


It's Your Move (Show Me What You've Got)

by PhoenixStar73



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alec Lightwood can't stand Magnus Bane at first, Alec is a bit OOC at times, Alec is still very insecure and panicky and it shows, Alec is the one with the spectacle kink, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Camille is Magnus's ex, Camille is the ex that somehow just won't go away, Characterizations are mostly true to canon, Competition, Confused Alec Lightwood, Drinking Games, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Flirting, Good Friend Jace Wayland, Good Sibling Jace Wayland, M/M, Mentions of Peer Pressure, Miscommunication, Not A Meet-Cute, Rivalry, Sibling Bonding, Spectacle kink (but in a fluffy sense)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:15:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28227504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoenixStar73/pseuds/PhoenixStar73
Summary: Alec narrowed his eyes, as he coolly assessed Magnus Bane, the 2-time beer pong champion from the other fraternity at Idris University.“Well,” Alec said tightly.  “You don't faze me. All I care about is knocking all the cups off your side of the table, and coming away with the trophy.”“Like I said, I like playing with a little fire to the game.  Looks like this year's beer pong competition will be interesting after all,” Magnus said finally.Updated Chapter 11 - COMPLETE!
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Ragnor Fell & Catarina Loss, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Ragnor Fell/Catarina Loss, past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt - Relationship
Comments: 302
Kudos: 295





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [villiageidiot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/villiageidiot/gifts).



> this fic is gifted to one of the most incredible people i was blessed to come across. And she's a great writer too! Go check out her fics, just click on her userid!!!
> 
> Chat me up on Twitter: Lyss (@PhoenixStar73)  
> https://twitter.com/PhoenixStar73?s=03

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Annual Beer Pong Competition with the two biggest fraternities on campus is coming up, and Alec Lightwood is the one representing Delta Delta Kappa. 
> 
> He doesn't expect to run into his competition from Gamma Sigma Delta right outside of his frat house right before he's about to head to English class -- 
> 
> But as luck would have it, that's exactly what happens...

“Come on, Jace and Alec! _DO IT DO IT DO IT_!” came the chorus of the brothers at Delta Delta Kappa, as they watched the two brothers, Jace Herondale and Alec Lightwood, go head to head across a long table, in a defining game of beer pong.

It had come down to this, the two brothers, after they had beat their fellow fraternity brothers who had won last year, Raj Khatri and Victor Aldertree.

Who were still busy sulking to the side– an hour later after their loss. And now glaring at both of them.

Jace smirked. He couldn’t care less about Raj and Victor. 

They just didn’t have what it took this year to go all the way.

All the way, meaning the Annual Beer Pong Games, between the two top fraternities at Idris University, Delta Delta Kappa and Gamma Sigma Delta.

As for this faceoff between him and his older brother, Alec Lightwood, this was merely practice. They both knew Jace was much better at this, but Jace wanted to build up Alec’s confidence, as this was his first year with the fraternity. 

Jace wanted Alec to be the one to compete this year.

So they had practiced together for the past few months, in the game room downstairs -- and eventually Alec did end up becoming as good as Jace. Enough for the brothers to vote him in as the competitor in the games this year.

However, Alec wasn’t as great in the social skills department – especially with trash talking. 

Which was a given with these competitions – to be able to psych out the competition.

So here Jace was, giving his brother a crash course in the art of trash talking while executing perfect throwing arcs into each cup on the table, without missing a beat. 

Jace grinned, flashing his dimple, as he ran his hand through his hair. 

“Heeeeey, Alec,” he said in a singsongy type of voice, “Bet you’re getting tired. Why don’t you give up now, eh? Tell you what, you give up now, and it will be less humiliating when I beat your ass at the end…”

“Keep dreaming,” Alec shot back, flashing back a lopsided grin, “Unless, of course you’re getting tired. I could do this all day, boy…”

Jace shrugged. “All right then,” he said. “You asked for it…” He aimed, drew his arm back, executing a perfect arc, right in the cup directly under Alec’s nose. 

Alec looked impressed. 

Ah, dammit,” he conceded, shaking his head. “That was perfect.” He picked up the cup, and moved it to the side. 

Beside him, the frat brother were shouting, “Drink, drink drink!” 

“Is that all you got, bro?” Alec taunted, to the cheers of the audience. “I’m thirsty, get at me, bro!”

Jace’s next throw – somehow missed. Both Jace and Alec looked at the table, with incredulous looks on their faces. “Uh, I wasn’t expecting you to miss,” Alec said slowly.

Jace looked equally confused. “You’re telling me,” he said. 

Alec nodded seriously, as he fished the ball out of the cup, chugged it, and swiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. 

“ _C’MON, LESS CHATTING, MORE DRINKING_!” came random voices from the back.

Jace looked over in that general direction. 

“Hey, this is just practice, stay chill,” he shouted back good-naturedly, to the answer of groans. He nodded at Alec. “Well, then, brother, looks like you got a break. It’s your go.”

Alec peered at Jace, who had turned to his left, and gotten his favorite baseball cap to put it upon his head, backwards. 

His eyes narrowed. 

Seeing that, Jace just rolled his eyes, twisting his lips into a slight smile of condescension, as he folded his arms against his chest. 

That was normally his brother’s intimidation move. 

_Let’s see what you’ve got._

Everyone on campus, knew of Jace as a popular guy – the golden boy. Very outgoing and always with a girl on his arm. 

To Alec, though, he was just Jace. 

The very annoying younger brother, sometimes with an inflated ego, but with a heart of gold. There was definitely no denying that he had the social thing down pat, while Alec was just a bit less adept in that department.

Actually, belonging to a fraternity wasn’t really his thing. 

But Jace had thought that Alec needed to get out more, expand his horizons. And so, one day he found himself chatting up frat brothers, with Jace at his side. And the brothers were all really cool and even on their game with classes and grades – two things Alec had been really surprised by. 

Raj and Victor – well those two he could do without -- but other than those two, the rest of them were cool.

And it had improved his social skills. Chatting up everyone he came across, every girl that that they put in front of him, who Jace set him up with. He would receive them with a polite smile and a handshake.

That’s the only thing where this whole thing fell short. _That was just not his thing…._

But belonging to a fraternity had certainly helped in the drinking department, that was for sure..

Alec focused his attention on Jace’s leering face and stance. “I’m going to wipe that smile off your face when you have to drink the next few cups!” he said in a confident tone of voice, as he aimed and shot.

Right in the middle cup. 

The crowd oohed.

The second shot, landed in a cup to its immediate left. And then the third in the last row of cups right in front of Jace. Then, narrowly missing the fourth. 

“Aww, snap,” Alec said, pouting. “I was on a roll. Anyway, hope you’re thirsty!”

The crowd exploded. Even Raj and Victor looked impressed.

Jace broke character, just then, as a big genuine smile crept upon his face.

“Man, Alec,” he said proudly, “You’re in top form today, that’s for sure.” He then turned to his frat brothers. “I guess now I need to drink now, don’t I?”

“ _HELL YEAH! DRINK DRINK DRINK!”_ they cried in unison.

Jace threw them all a salute, before downing all three cups, one after the after, with ball in hand.

“Hope you’re ready to drink all the cups you’ve got left. Taking no prisoners. Eat my dust,” he yelled, as he tossed the ball. It bounced clumsily off one of the side cups.

Alec squinted his eyes at Jace, who just shrugged. 

He knew Jace had thrown that turn on purpose, and was now waiting on him to say something. 

Alec took a deep breath, and retorted, “Aww, c’mon, I thought you were supposed to make me work here. C’mon, give me a little something…”

Jace smiled brightly. “Nice one!” he said happily, jumping up from his seat. He came around the table, and the brothers shared a high five.

Just then the phone alarm on Alec’s phone rang.

“Shit,” he said, “Time for English class. Already?” Alec groaned. 

Because he had registered late for classes last semester, the only English class available this semester had been in the evenings from 630-940pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Which sucked, because usually everyone’s classes were during the day, and so the evenings would be free for other, more enjoyable things. 

But no, due to some incredibly poor planning on his part, he was stuck for it.

Jace nodded at him. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out,” he said.

“Sure,” Alec said, as he packed up his bookbag for class. 

Together, Jace and Alec walked down the stairs of the frat house together.

“So,” Jace said. “How are you feeling about the whole thing?”

“Not bad, I think I could swing it,” Alec said. Then he hesitated. “Since I’m new to all of this, I don’t know much about the competition. How are they looking this year?”

Jace clucked his tongue. “That triple you hit was pretty amazing. But we will need to practice more. The competition, Gamma Sigma Delta, currently holds the title, 2 years running. And not only that, they’ve always gone with the same guy…”

Alec stopped and looked at Jace. 

_Huh_. This was new to Alec. “What?” he asked, astonished. “And I’m just hearing about this now?”

Jace paused, as if remembering something. “Oh, you don’t know? I thought it was common knowledge…” He trailed off.

Alec stopped and looked at him. “Should I be worried?” he asked.

Jace wrinkled his nose. “Nah, you’re good,” he said. Then he hummed. “But, then again…he did win this two years in a row…”

The same person won two years in a row? Who was this guy? Alec wondered, staring at Jace..

Jace fidgeted under Alec’s scrutiny.

“Yea, well,” Jace said awkwardly. “Victor and Raj really had it out with him last year actually, when he won. The guy’s really good at trash talking, and using innuendos to throw people off. Some people are of the opinion that it borders on cheating because it gets everyone off kilter. Raj and Victor were basically reduced to name-calling. They were getting all flustered and red in the face…”

Jace started cracking up. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he gasped. “So not good to laugh at our own frat brothers. But you know them…”

“What?” Alec snorted. “Someone was that good to knock Raj and Victor off their high horse last year during the beer pong competition? My god, I should actually buy _him_ a drink…

“Well, well,” a velvety, musical voice suddenly said. “Too bad I have class right now, or else I might actually take you up on that.”

 _HUH?_ Both Jace and Alec whirled around. Alec’s breath caught.

Standing in front of them was easily one of the most striking men that Alec had ever seen. 

Clad in a dark blue racer leather jacket, white v-neck long sleeve shirt, dark wash flare cut jeans, and Nike crosstrainers, the outfit was very flattering to the guy’s build. He had a gym bag slung over his right shoulder. 

Not to mention that his hair was styled in a quiff with red tips, with some of the bangs already falling out of the style and hanging over his twinkling, expressive eyes. 

On his neck lay a silver chain with some sort of green rectangular shaped stone on it.

And was he even wearing dark red and black winged eyeliner? With a gold star on the far end of his eyes, and a diamond stud in his right ear?

As dumbfounded as Alec was about the eyeliner and gold star near his eyes, he also found himself very, very drawn to it.

_Now this was someone whom you didn’t see, or meet, everyday…_

Jace coughed, and then Alec realized he had been staring a bit too long. The gorgeous man’s mouth twisted into a grin as his eyes roved over Alec.

Alec flushed.

“Bane,” Jace said wryly, but breaking into a wide grin. 

He turned to Alec. 

“Oh, excuse me. I meant, _MAGNUS Bane_. The competition,” Jace drawled. 

“Oh,” Alec said dumbly, suddenly without powers of speech. _This was his competition?_

The man threw his head back and laughed. 

“Oh, you flatter me, Herondale. Always a joy to see you, darling” he said. He pursed his lips. “So, this year, hopefully it’s going to be you instead of those numbnuts last year? At least I know you can take a bit of ribbing, and I know the games will be interesting then…“

Jace shook his head. “No, it’s not me this year. But he will be,” Jace said, clapping Alec on the back. “This is my brother Alec Lightwood. He won the finals game today with a triple shot.”

Magnus turned, directly focusing his attention onto Alec. 

“Wow, impressive! That was definitely a grand stroke of luck there, champ,” Magnus said lightly.

Alec stared at him. Had he detected a hint of sarcasm in there? _Well two could play that game_.

“It wasn’t luck, it was skill. And you best bring it when we meet next,” he tossed back. 

“Oh, _feisty_ ,” Magnus said. “Actually…I like that. A lot, actually.” 

Then he cleared his throat.

“So tell me, is Alec short for anything? Alexander, perhaps, hmm?” he added, his voice considerably lower.

Alec nearly choked upon hearing his full name upon his lips. He tried not to think about how nice it had sounded, or that it had made him shudder. 

Then he saw Magnus’s devilish smile. And Alec stiffened. 

_HE KNEW HOW HE AFFECTED PEOPLE!_

_Was this his form of intimidation, even before the actual event?_

Alec narrowed his eyes. 

“Well,” he said tightly. “I don’t know what game you think you’re playing. But I prefer to play without the strategy of distraction and wiles. When there’s something I really want, I become super focused. And nothing can get to me. All I care about is knocking all the cups off your side of the table, and coming away with the trophy.”

He would not let Magnus Bane get the best of him….

Even Jace looked impressed at Alec’s tirade, as he smirked.

“Wow, that’s telling him, bro,” Jace said. He turned to Magnus, who had raked one eyebrow, equally eyeing Alec with a slight upturn on his lips.

“Like I said, I like playing with a little fire to the game. Looks like this year will be interesting after all,” Magnus said finally. 

He lifted his chin, as he faced Alec with a smile.

God, even his teeth are perfect, Alec thought, suddenly annoyed as hell. 

_Who did he think he was? This guy…_

_He refused to let him intimidate him. Or in letting his guard down._

_“_ Well, then,” he said, mustering as much stoicness in his voice, “May the best beer pong champ win, Bane.”

He stuck out his hand.

Magnus looked at him, as if he was debating how to read him. Then he shrugged, his infuriating smirk back in place. 

He reached out and shook it. 

“Looking forward to besting you…Lightwood,” Magnus said. “In every which way _possible.”_

Hmm, was that a veiled threat? Alec thought, his eyes never leaving Magnus’s face.

“You’re on,” he said, between gritted teeth.

 _Insufferable!_ he thought.

An uncomfortable silence developed between the three.

Jace cleared his throat. 

“Well, I guess we will be seeing you,” Jace said lightly. “Alec, here, is going to English class. Unfortunately he has to take the Tuesday/Thursday evening class, since he partied a bit too hard and forgot to register…OW!”

Jace was now holding his side, as Alec glared at him, having decked him in the ribs. 

Why did Jace need to run his mouth to Bane, anyway? _Wasn’t he the competition?_

Magnus tilted his head and assessed both boys, with a curious look upon his face.

“Ah…you wouldn’t be going to Mr. Garroway’s class, right?” he asked.

Alec stilled. 

_Oh my god,_ he thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. _Don’t tell me…_

“Yea! Actually he is. Why do you ask?” Jace asked brightly.

Oh god, Alec was really annoyed with Jace at this moment -- he didn’t have many blond moments, but when he had them, he was ridiculous…

“Because he has Mr. Garroway, too,” Alec mumbled under his breath.

“Because I’m heading over to Mr. Garroway right now. Of all the luck!” Magnus said cheerfully.

“Aren’t I lucky,” Alec muttered under his breath.

Jace’s face took on a weird expression as he seemed to come to a realization.

“Oh my god,” he breathed. “That’s right, how did I _forget_ ….”

Jace stopped talking, as he caught Alec glaring daggers at him.

Magnus looked from Jace to Alec, an unreadable expression on his face. Then he looked down at his watch. 

“Oh! I nearly forgot, I need to change out of this outfit. I need to get back to the frat house,” he said. “You two go on first.”

Without another look, Magnus turned and ran off.

Both Alec and Jace stood there looking after him.

“Uh, as if we were going to wait on him, and walk over together,” Alec muttered, shaking his head.

Alec then turned to Jace.

“What are the chances that he not only is my _main_ competition in this whole thing? But that we are in the same English class for the next 13 weeks?” he lamented.

Jace grimaced.

Oh god, Alec thought. He recognized that look. Jace was not good at hiding his emotions. 

“Jace,” he said warningly. “You know something, don’t you…”

Jace shrugged. Now he had a sheepish look upon his face. “I had forgotten before. But it came back to me…”

Alec didn’t like where that was heading. He narrowed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 to come


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec finds out he's in the same English class as Magnus,  
> \-- which is bad enough already -- since he will be seeing him twice a week, _every_ week this semester.
> 
> Then he notices other things about him during the course of the class..that he would just rather _not_...

Sometime later, Alec was sitting in the middle of a small lecture hall, slouching in his seat, with his arms folded across his chest – and cursing under his breath. 

_Of all the things…_

_Jace’s apologetic face - -and words – echoed in his head:_

_“Dude,” Jace said, not quite looking at him. “I forgot. Magnus is filling in for the TA for the English class you’re taking, tonight...for the rest of the semester…”_

_“…WHAT!”_

_Jace could only shrug, wincing at the look on Alec’s face, which Alec was sure had gone completely red at that time._

_But he couldn’t face off with him for very long, as it was already after 6pm. So Alec had only huffed at his brother, along with giving him a “We are going to talk about this later,” glare, before spinning on his heel and walking toward the main campus._

_...._

At this particular moment, sitting in the nearly empty lecture hall,, Alec’s mind was cycling through various ways on how to _kill_ Jace for not telling him earlier – or at the very least, _conveniently forgetting to tell him –_

_But then –_

Movement from the right side of the room caught his eye. 

He turned to look –

And all other thoughts completely flew out of his head just then.

Because, who had just walked in from the right side of the lecture hall _, was_ Magnus Bane. 

He was smiling as he waved a hello at the professor, Mr. Garroway, as he made his way toward the podium. 

Looking as infuriating as ever, but dressed more professionally than before.

Magnus had changed out of his other outfit from before. Now he was in a button down chambray shirt, and well-fitting black pants, cut bootcut style. The hem of his pants hit the top of his work boots perfectly. 

Somehow it made his physique look even more attractive. 

He was also wearing…spectacles? Which sat at the bridge of his nose.

He looked... _distinguished._

Suggesting just a hint of experience... And competency...

Which admittedly made Alec’s heart stutter.

Alec never thought he had a spectacles kink. 

_Which, apparently you do_ , his brain mused. _In fact, it's rather sexy, isn't it.._

Inappropriate thoughts and images of a particular nature started filtering through his brain...

 _Stop it!_ he thought, annoyed with himself. He willed the thoughts away.

Then Magnus turned to pick up the rest of the books from the chair next to him.

If Alec’s brain nearly short-circuited as that move showcased his perfectly muscular ass within perfect view of him – well, Magnus didn’t have to know that.

Magnus was holding books in his hands. Now he had turned and was speaking to the class, as he walked toward the projector screen, which had the title of tonight’s lesson on it. 

Mr. Garroway looked upon him, smiling with approval.

“The next book we will be analyzing, starting tonight, is called “The Art of War,” by Sun Tzu,” Magnus was saying. His voice rang out like a clear bell. “I believe you can find the assignments on your syllabus. Anyway the author Sun Tze is actually a pseudo name of a Chinese military strategist back in 5th century BC.”

Then he paused, walking a few steps closer, and peered at everyone in the room.

His gaze fell upon Alec’s. Alec inhaled sharply, nearly bristling at the way he was directing his look at him.. 

He had been paying attention in class, so why was Magnus singling him out? 

Alec turned away momentarily, a slight flare of irritation rising within him. 

“We aren’t actually sure of the exact regional dialect spoken by the General. But I think we can trust that Mandarin would be a safe bet. That is considered the main language of the Republic of China.” 

He cleared his throat as he opened the book, and started reading. 

Perfectly native Mandarin rolled off Magnus’s tongue as he read the Prologue. 

Alec’s eyes widened.

_Was there anything that this guy couldn’t do?_

Once Magnus was finished, his gaze flitted up toward the left of the lecture hall, as someone had raised his hand. 

“Ah, Mr. Lewis,” he said, noting the dark haired gangly student in class who was sitting in the back. His name was Simon. Alec knew him – he would often be in the common areas of the quad, playing his guitar with his group of friends, and singing.

Also he thought he might have heard his name once or twice drop from his sister Isabelle’s lips during one of their weekly phone calls together. She had transferred out of Idris last semester but still had lots of friends here, so she came down from time to time. Their schedules, however, didn't match up, so he hadn't seen her in months.

He racked his brain, as he tried to remember. _Were they going out now or something?_ Isabelle and Simon?

Alec wasn’t sure, exactly…

“I didn’t know you spoke Mandarin. Didn’t you say you were Indonesian?” Simon asked, confused.

Magnus hummed, as he smiled.

“That’s correct,” he said, seemingly pleased that Simon remembered this part, “I am Indonesian. But I speak four other languages – Mandarin, Dutch, French, and Spanish. I was a product of a multicultural household…”

And then – Magnus made a show of it, rolling from one language seamlessly into another.

It was impressive.

Once he stopped talking, a corner of his mouth twisted into a smirk. “And if you guys hadn’t guessed yet, I’m also minoring in linguistics,” he said.

Alec’s heart started beating erratically. He huffed, slightly annoyed. Oh great, he didn’t need even _more_ reasons to start admiring this guy…

Even if he _was_ pretty impressive.

….and looked really awesome – in almost everything he wore.

 _And, perhaps he would look even more impressive without, if that’s of any indication,_ his brain supplied helpfully

_Ah, dammit._

He was fucked…wasn’t he…

Of all the people to be thinking about. _Please. Just stop now, brain._

_STOP._

_*****************_

“ _Alexander! Wait up! Alexander!”_

And…just like that, Alec’s brain started flickering, as his heartbeat became erratic. _OH GOD --_

It was Magnus, calling out to him. 

What now? Alec thought, irritated. 

He didn’t turn around. Instead, he chose to pretend like he didn’t hear him. In fact, he walked slightly faster, hugging the new book to his chest.

Anyway it was gradually getting darker outside now, as the class ended almost 830pm. So he actually had an excuse to walk faster, to get back to his frat house.

But soon enough, Alec could hear footsteps -- getting closer and closer, with another attempt. “Alexander!”

Alec took a deep breath. 

Okay, he thought, closing his eyes briefly. He would have to turn around…

And so, he did, nearly bumping _solidly_ into Magnus, who had been right behind him.

 _Whoa._ He hadn’t realized that Magnus had caught up to him _that_ quickly, in such a short time. 

Now Magnus’s face was so close to his, he could actually see how his dark brown eyes glimmered amidst the lamp lights. 

Magnus’s chest was also heaving, as he struggled to catch his breath. The first four buttons of his button down shirt were now open, revealing more of his chest and a gold necklace he was wearing. Of course it had been more buttoned up during the lecture; he must have done that to get more comfortable once the class was over.

“Ah, so sorry,” Magnus said hastily, immediately recoiling as he struggled to regain his footing. “I didn’t expect you to stop so abruptly. I was calling for awhile. You walk pretty fast…”

Alec tried his best to retain composure. 

As it was, Magnus’s proximity was bringing forth feelings – _strange_ feelings that he didn’t exactly want to analyze right now –

“Uh, it was getting dark,” Alec blurted out. 

_Oh god, how awkward did he sound, right about now?_

_“_ I’m not crazy about walking back from class alone, so I tend to try to do it as fast as possible,” he stated, rather lamely.

Against his will, he shivered – but he wasn’t sure if that was from the cool night breeze, or if it was from something else entirely.

As it was, Magnus had fallen in step with him, but was still looking at him with an intense gaze.

“I know the feeling,” he stated. 

And somehow, Alec immediately felt much more relaxed. But still on edge. 

How was it that this guy, who was practically a stranger, was able to do this?

They walked together in silence for a little bit.

“So,” Magnus said, “That was a bit much, eh? The new book and all…” He trailed off as he shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. “I tend to get carried away with the languages and all. I just have such a passion for them…”

“Your presentation was amazing, actually,” Alec blurted out. all prior feelings of annoyance suddenly gone with the wind. “I didn’t even expect it from you –”

His eyes widened, and he suddenly shut his mouth. “Oh, that totally came out wrong,” he added hastily, “I hadn’t meant ---"

At that, Magnus’s mouth curved into a slight smile. 

“You didn’t expect someone – like me – someone who belonged in a fraternity, to be so well-read? Or spoken? Or even to be a teaching assistant?” he asked glibly.

Alec was glad that it was dark right now, so Magnus couldn’t see the flush which had appeared at the top of his cheeks.

Magnus clucked his tongue.

“It’s quite alright, by the way,” he said, clearly not taking offense. 

Alec breathed a sigh of relief at that.

“Ah, well, it’s definitely easier when you already have some as your native tongue, or when spoken at home,” he said. “I had all but Mandarin growing up. I had a best friend in childhood who spoke the language, and my parents would bring me over for playdates all the time so that’s how I acquired that. But it was mostly due to my own initiative that I wanted to learn it. It’s never too late, really…”

Hmm, that’s actually a good attitude to have, Alec thought, suddenly all too aware of his own lack of focus in his own college career. A sophomore, and still no clear direction. 

He was doing Liberal Arts, and just taking a whole smattering of courses, to see what he might be interested in…

“…anyway, that’s what college is for, though. Hopefully to discover new interests. Or to cement those that you already knew you were good at. The sky’s the limit, really,” Magnus was saying. .

Alec could only nod, having missed half of what he was saying. 

Still, what he had caught, really did make sense. 

_Wait, what was he thinking? He couldn’t stand this guy!! And yet…_

Alec couldn’t even begin to make sense out of the conflicting thoughts and emotions this one encounter was bringing forth.

_He was such a freaking mess…_

“Well here we are,” Magnus said suddenly.

Blinking, Alec turned to where Magnus was looking. They were already in front of his fraternity house.

“Oh,” Alec said blankly. “Uh, thanks for walking with me.”

A small smile appeared on Magnus’s lips. “Not a problem. Managed to get you home in one piece,” he quipped.

They just stood there, some look passing between them, that Alec couldn’t decipher.

Magnus seemed a bit on edge himself, and looked like he was about to say something –

“Hey, is that you Alec?” a voice suddenly called out, a bit hesitantly, from the other end of the walkway.

Both Alec and Magnus glanced briefly toward that direction. A figure stood in the doorway, holding the front door open, trying to see who was out there.

_Ah, it was indeed Jace._

_“OOH, that is you, Alec! You survived class, I see. What were you even worried about? Nothing to stress over, am I right?”_

_OH MY GOD.._.

Alec was about to die of embarrassment....

_Please stop yelling..._

Jace was now indeed yelling out into the night, while standing at the doorway. Then Jace had started to walk toward the both of them, a determined look on his face.

Alec wasn’t sure if he was disappointed, or relieved Jace had come at that very moment.

“Yea, Jace,” he called back at last. “It’s me.”

He turned to Magnus. "Looks like I gotta go” he said, chuckling awkwardly.

Magnus smiled as Jace approached the two of them. 

“Ah, always with the timing, Herondale. Right on the money,” he said, smiling. He exhaled slow and deep as he turned to Alec. “It’s good Jace has your back. He’s a good guy, you know.”

“What he is – is _ANNOYING_ ,” Alec threw back.

“ _HEY! UH I’M RIGHT HERE,”_ Jace protested. “ _ALEC, DO YOU MIND? SHEESH…”_

The two chuckled amongst themselves. 

Magnus had a really nice laugh, Alec noted. 

His cheeks were starting to burn.

“Well, guess you better turn in, then, ” Magnus stated. 

Alec nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll see you…in class tomorrow, Mr. Teacher's Assistant,” Alec said gruffly, biting his lip slightly.

Magnus tilted his head as he assessed him. 

“Oh, a joke eh? Didn’t think you had it in you,” he retorted, but he was grinning. “Okay then, good night.”

“Good night,” Alec replied. 

Magnus brought his hand to his temple and gave him a small salute, before turning and leaving.

Alec idly watched him leave. 

_Now what had THAT been?_ he wondered.

Jace was now smirking at him. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting… _anything_ ,” he quipped, his intentions clear.

Alec glowered at him. “Oh be quiet,” he huffed. “He was just walking with me.”

Jace hummed. “Bane…he’s more than he seems, eh?” he said, in all seriousness

“You can say that again, “ Alec mused, shaking his head as they both walked back into the frat house together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 to come


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, seeing Magnus around campus becomes a regular thing for Alec, and, uh there might actually be a lil something in the air...  
> .  
> Then one evening, Magnus is going to the bar to celebrate a friend's birthday, and an unexpected invite is extended...

The next few weeks flew by, with Alec continuing to run into Magnus in some shape or form, outside of class, or after class. 

And it was quite odd, yet comforting – the way Alec suddenly found himself growing accustomed to his presence. 

Or that his heart would do something funny upon the very sight of Magnus – not even in the amazing outfit he had been in upon their first run-in, but even in his attire as a TA, with his spectacles, classic tailored shirt and pants.

The realization had hit him from out of nowhere one day, as he had gotten to English lecture a few minutes early, and was sitting in his regular seat…

Magnus strode in gracefully a short time later – and there was really no other word that could describe him. In every which way he moved, it was graceful beyond a doubt. 

Alec couldn’t even begin to know how to cultivate something like that.

And yet, it didn’t seem forced at all, when Magnus did it. It just seemed so effortless, as if it was a part of him – _his nature._

Alec found that he couldn’t keep his eyes off of him, even though Magnus was doing nothing but walking to the table in the front of the room. Magnus set down his brown messenger bag, seemed to be rummaging through it for a second, and then took out some folders.

Suddenly, Alec found himself looking at a pair of soft brown eyes, albeit with a surprised yet soft? expression within them – as if he had just noticed Alec was in the room. 

Rimmed with spectacles. 

_OH GOD THOSE SPECTACLES_

And gazing at him. Oh god. Alec’s cheeks burned, for whatever reason, he wasn’t sure. Or perhaps he wasn’t quite ready to admit to whatever it was…

“Alexander,” Magnus said, in a surprised but happy tone of voice. Alec gulped, as the impact of his voice hit him.

_CHILLS DOWN THE SPINE…_

Awkwardly, Alec gave him a fingered wave in response – not quite knowing what to do, or to say next. 

“Hi, Magnus,” he said finally. 

Suddenly the room felt like a zillion degrees…when did the temperature go up so high?

Or was that just him? Nervously he tugged at his shirt collar.

Magnus was looking at him curiously, with an upturn twist to his lips. “You’re early today,” he observed no concomitantly.

Alec chuckled. “Yea, certainly looks like I am,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to miss my favorite class, right?”

The words were out of his mouth before he realized it. His voice even had a slight lilt to it.

 _W- What?_ Alec thought, horrified.

_What possessed him to say something…like that? Or to even sound like that?_

Magnus gazed at him for a long moment. Then he laughed softly. 

“Point for enthusiasm,” he quipped. 

And Alec could see that Magnus’s cheeks were slightly pink. It just made him seem endearing at that moment..

 _HEY ALEC, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?_ _UH NO NO this is the wrong time for this,_ his brain thought.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “So, we’re still studying the book, right?” he asked casually.

Magnus’s head seemed to snap back up, as if he had been lost in thoughts of his own. “Uh yea,” he said, reaching up to fiddle with his spectacles.

“Actually, I think the professor wants to discuss the term paper today. So the class may even end a bit earlier than usual today. I didn’t even know about it until a half hour ago.” Magnus cleared his throat before speaking again a lower tone, almost as if more toward himself, “Quite fortuitous actually, since I’ve got something to get to tonight –”

The doors of the lecture hall creaked open, and Magnus stopped talking as he straightened up his posture, his face breaking into a smile. 

“Good evening, Michael, Lauren, Simon,” he called out, addressing the three students who had walked into the room. 

Alec had also instinctively turned upon hearing the sound of the door.

His thoughts were in a tizzy though. _Hmm, so Magnus had plans tonight?_ Maybe even… _a date?_

Alec wasn’t sure why that suddenly made him feel uncomfortable. 

_There was no reason. No reason at all…_

Taking a deep breath, he put on a big smile as he turned back toward the front of the class, pushing all silly thoughts out of his head.

***************

The class was over before Alec knew it. Actually much earlier than he had expected.

Alec’s focus went straight to Magnus, as he recalled the conversation prior to class. Magnus was going somewhere after this…

“Hey,” Alec called out casually. Magnus’s head snapped up to attention just then, and their eyes met.

“Have fun tonight, wherever you’re going,” Alec said, in as congenial as a manner as he could .

Magnus gave him a nod, although appearing to be in deep thought about something. 

In fact, almost as if he was wrestling something within himself…

Then something settled within his eyes, and he looked up at Alec again. Alec’s breath caught.

_Was he imagining things, or was there a tinge of…vulnerability within them?‘_

"Actually, I'm heading over to the bar by the West part of campus soon," Magnus said lightly. "It’s my friend’s birthday. Ever been?”

Alec hummed. “We normally hit up the one on the other side of campus by the library,” he said. “But, yea, I’ve been to that one a few times.”

_Ah, so those were Magnus’s plans for tonight…_

“Oh, it’s your friend’s birthday today? Aw, that’s cool. Have fun,” Alec said genuinely.

Magnus tilted his head as he turned to look at Alec. “Actually, if you aren’t doing anything tonight, you are free to join,” he said casually. 

_OH?_ Alec’s focus was suddenly on Magnus. Magnus seemed to be assessing him, his expression a bit hesitant. 

Hmm, when was Magnus _ever_ hesitant? 

Alec couldn’t recall one moment, in these past few weeks when they’ve run into one another…

_Well, anyway.._

_It was just drinks, right?_ _Nothing wrong with that…_

“Sure, why not?” Alec said, shrugging. “Let’s go.”

………………

The bar was packed, with loud music blaring through the speakers. College kids standing around or congregating at tables, and still others, wrapped around one another, or leaning toward one another, talking over the music.

“Oh, I see them, they are by the game area,” Magnus said, suddenly grabbing Alec by the hand. Alec, jolted by the feel of Magnus’s hands in his, froze momentarily. Mutely he allowed himself to be pulled through the rambunctious crowd. 

As the crowd started thinning out, Magnus seemed to stiffen slightly, and dropped Alec’s hand, as realizing what he had done impulsively. 

“Uh, sorry,” he said quickly. “I don’t know where my mind was. My first thought was to get out through that crowd as quickly as possible.” There was a light flush across his cheeks.

Alec was sure the flush on Magnus’s cheeks matched his own. 

“Well,” he said lightly, trying not to sound awkward. “Well, it worked, didn’t it? No harm done.”

Magnus’s gaze lingered upon his for a moment longer. Alec’s breath hitched, as the crowd seemed to fall away. 

Well at least in his head, anyway. 

_Uh, what was happening right now?_

The moment didn’t last long, as Alec saw two individuals approach Magnus from behind.

“Hey!” the pretty African American girl, grabbing Magnus into a big hug. 

Alec watched as Magnus flinched with surprise for a second, before realizing who it was. Then he grinned, hugging her back.

The guy next to her was tall, with blonde hair, and dressed rather formal for being at a bar. But his eyes looked kind behind spectacles. 

He was looking straight at Alec, with an upturned twist upon his lips. The guy cleared his throat, and said, “So, Magnus, this must be the one you keep talking about as of late, eh? Alexander, is it?”

Magnus had pulled away from the girl at this time, looking mortified. “Ragnor!” he hissed warningly.

The guy named Ragnor kept that smug, satisfied look upon his face.

Alec felt his cheeks go full on red.

“It’s Alec,” he said automatically, sticking out his hand. They shook hands. 

The girl followed shortly. “I’m Catarina,” she said warmly. Her demeanor was sweet and open, and Alec decided he liked her instantly.

“We already have a table, right by the darts. Since Magnus loves to play,” Catarina stated.

“Oh, Cat,” Magnus said dismissively. “

He gave Alec a rueful smile. “I’m really not all that good,” he said, shrugging. Next to him, both Catarina and Ragnor were shaking their heads, giving him looks of disbelief. 

Alec bit his lip to stifle a smile. He, too, hadn’t believed that for a minute. _After all, look at everything the guy could do thus far…_

“Well, I’m done for a friendly game,” he said, looking directly at Magnus. “You down?”

Magnus’s mouth curved into a soft smile that made his heart skip a beat. “Yes,” he said.

…………

Half an hour later, Alec was regretting having asked to to play. He watched incredulously as Magnus made his third bullseye in a row. 

They were playing for drinks – loser had to take two double shots at the end, winner’s choice.

He knew from Catarina and Ragnor’s reactions before that Magnus was probably much better than he let on. 

But sheesh, besides this perfect three-in-a-row, the guy was hitting bullseye every 3 turns and the inner circles. Alec was hitting some too, but nowhere with the precision that Magnus was.

He turned to Ragnor, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. “How did you not tell me about this?” he demanded incredulously.

At that, Catarina burst out laughing. “I see that the ice has been broken,” she said, her eyes crinkling. 

Ragnor then burst out laughing. “Well, we did try to warn you with those side gestures we were making, but you went ahead and challenged him anyway!” he chortled.

Alec groaned. “I guess I have no one to blame but myself,” he said, as he watched Magnus hit one of the outer rings.

“Oh my god, finally,” he said, rolling his eyes at him. Magnus turned to him, then and shrugged. 

Alec made a face at him, mimicking the shrug. 

Magnus’s face took on an amused expression, ,before he threw his head back and laughed.

 _Magnus looks so cute when he laughs, doesn’t he?_ Alec’s brain asked. Somehow he couldn’t keep his eyes off of him…

Besides him, Catarina hummed. 

“I’m just glad he’s enjoying himself. It’s nice to see him happy,” she said quietly. “After his last relationship ended, he spent a lot of time here, to kinda pass the time and to forget. I think that’s how he got so good at darts. ” 

She chuckled, but there was a tinge of anxiety in it. 

“Oh, and beer pong too. He was never really into those things until he met her – Camille -- and she’s the one who convinced him to rush the fraternity. They partied a lot, he got into all the typical fraternity stuff, and his academic work suffered. After the second year, somehow a friend of his convinced him to reach out to us. Prior to that, well, we knew she was potentially bad news, but we hadn’t known the extent of it – she had pretty much broken him. We were both alarmed, Ragnor and I. Magnus, being the smart guy that he is, straightened himself out, but was still kinda hung up on the girl. Eventuallly she dumped him, leaving him a shadow of himself. He kinda swore off relationships, only to keep friendships and other things he was good at…”

She trailed off, looking hesitant.

“I was worried about him for awhile. But then things started looking up for him. Like the TA position – he worked hard to get it. That was such a boon to his self-esteem. After that, you could see he was nearly back to who he was before she came into his life.”

“Oh?” Alec asked. Hm, breakups were never fun. Magnus certainly sounded like he went through a lot. “I’m glad things are going so well for him right now. He seems like a good guy,” he said quietly.

Catarina seemed to be giving him a look resembling approval.

Suddenly Magnus was standing in front of the both of them.

“Both of you talking about me, darling?” Magnus inquired lightly to Catarina, but his eyes were looking squarely upon Alec’s face. 

“You didn’t tell me you’re at expert level with darts. I feel like I was misled,” Alec lamented, giving him a mock glare.

Magnus shrugged. “I actually haven’t played in months. I was practicing for the beer pong competition instead,” he said.

“Still,” Alec argued. “We were not on equal footing…”

“Aww, poor baby” Magnus crooned, patting him on the head

“Hey!” Alec protested, moving his head away. “I didn’t ask for sympathy. I’m just making a general statement.” He crossed his arms against his chest, making a face.

“Are you pouting?” Magnus asked, his eyes growing wide.

“No,” Alec said in an defensive tone of voice. He knew he was, though. His cheeks burned.

Magnus’s face was again in front of him. “I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “Next round’s on me? Well, that, and I need to buy the birthday boy a round…”

“Now we’re talking,” Ragnor called out.

Moments later, the group had taken their first two rounds of shots together, wishing Ragnor a happy birthday. 

Then somehow it had turned into Magnus and Alec trading good-natured statements, and maybe an innuendo or two – courtesy of Magnus, as Ragnor would groan every time one was thrown out. 

Alec only laughed in response before downing his own drink, his attention strictly on the bright, smiling face in front of him with those dark twinkling eyes. He felt heady, as if he was drawn toward them by some unknown force…

_Or maybe that was the alcohol talking…_

Regardless, something within him threw all caution to the wind. 

“Another,” Alec proclaimed, grinning.

“Yes sir!” Magnus laughed with delight. 

_What an amazing sound…_

The camaderie of the four – and particularly between these two – did not go unnoticed by those around them….

*****

_Hours later – and multiple shots later_

“Well, that was fun,” Ragnor said, slightly slurring, leaning against Catarina as she held onto him.

They were all sitting on a bench outside, a few feet away from the bar, trying to sober up a bit before going back to campus.

Catarina looked at Ragnor affectionately. 

“Thanks for coming out, Magnus,” he continued. “And for bringing out Alec, he was fun.”

Magnus smiled. “Of course, dear Ragnor,” he said, his own voice slightly slurring. “Although I’m sorry we couldn’t do anything more during the week. 

Truthfully, he was a bit more than buzzed, but he was still okay.

Catarina squinted at him. “You two going to be alright?” she asked. “You two were going head to head…”

She paused, peering over at Alec -- who was leaning his head on Magnus’s shoulder – with a critical eye. Alec had a dreamy look upon his face, his eyes half-closed, and he had a silly smile on his face.

“I know _you’re_ okay,” she stated. “But is _he_ going to be okay?”

Magnus chuckled, as he glanced at Alec. 

“He’s a big boy. He’ll be alright,” he said, rolling his eyes at him affectionately. “He’s my competition, remember?”

“What’s that, now?” Alec had somehow become more aware of his surroundings in the past few minutes, although his head was still lolling against Magnus’s shoulder. One eye peeked open to look at Magnus, Catarina, and a visibly smashed Ragnor.

“Uh, _whathappenedtohim_?” Alec managed to say.

Magnus turned to him. “Uh, same thing that happened to you, pretty much?” he chided gently.

Alec made a face.

“What, me? Nah man, I’m good,” he protested, as he shrugged Magnus’s arm off his shoulder. Magnus moved aside immediately without argument. . Alec proceeded to walk – no stumble – a few steps.

“Hmm, I may need a little help,” he admitted. Magnus tried not to laugh as he put his arm around his shoulders again, while Catarina tittered for the both of them. 

Alec peered upward from under his lashes at Magnus’s arm around his shoulder.

“Hmm…that feels nice,” he told Magnus pointedly. 

Magnus turned to him, his eyes widening, as his face registering slight shock. 

“Well, now,” Catarina suddenly said , making Magnus flinch. She had an amused look on his face. “This just became significantly more interesting. Now, that being said, I think I need to get Ragnor home, and properly put him to bed. He’s going to have the worst hangover tomorrow. Luckily his class doesn’t start until 1pm.”

She turned to Ragnor.

“C’mon now, honey,” she said softly to her boyfriend , who was currently leaning against her shoulder with his own dreamy look upon his face. When that failed to produce a response, she nudged him with an elbow. 

Ragnor’s eyes flew open. “Huh?” he asked, sounding incredibly sleepily.

“We’re going home now. You need to get up and walk, okay?” she stated.

“Oh,” Ragnor stated, with slight surprise. “Okay.” 

They both got up from the bench. It seemed to take great effort for Ragnor to turn his head toward Magnus and Alec. 

“We’re leaving,” he said, stating the obvious. “Bye.”

Magnus smiled. “I will see you for brunch on Sunday,” he said to Catarina and Ragnor.

Catarina nodded with a smile, as she and Ragnor turned to walk away.

Which left Magnus alone with Alec, his head leaning on his shoulder.. 

“Well,” Magnus chuckled softly, glancing down at Alec, “We should really get you home. What would Jace say?”

Alec glanced upwards at Magnus with a look of confusion. He snorted. “Jace? Who cares? He’s not the boss of me,” he stated.

Magnus chuckled again. “Well, that he may not be. But he’s still your brother. I’m sure he’s wondering where you are,” he reminded gently.

Alec hummed. “I don’t feel like going anywhere,” he mumbled. He continued looking upward at Magnus.

And then he smiled goofily. “You’re pretty…” he stated, his voice in awe.

Magnus’s eyes widened again.

“You’re buzzed, Alexander,” he said, frowning slightly. 

However, he also started to laugh softly, despite himself, as it was kinda cute at the same time. Anyway, the important thing right now, was to get Alec home.

Magnus started to get up from the bench, while preparing to help Alec get up as well. “Anyway, here, let me help you –"

“No,” Alec stated, his voice a bit more firm, as he resisted what Magnus was doing. Instead he grabbed Magnus’s shirt, pulling down. Magnus stumbled slightly as he did so, their faces ending up very close to one another. 

Magnus blinked, half in shock.

“Isn’t this better?” Alec asked breathily. 

Then the next thing Magnus knew, Alec had leaned in and was kissing him.

His lips were soft and pliable and sweet, and his tongue was lightly tracing along the edge of Magnus’s lips. Magnus moaned slightly upon the new sensations, and his eyes fell closed as he responded to the kiss. 

Arms reached out to hold each other closer, caressing the nape of the neck, fingers entwined within thick locks of hair.

_Lost in their own universe…_

_…However, it appeared as if they had forgotten how public this spot actually was. And, unbeknownst to them, they had attracted quite a bit of attention…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CH 4 to come


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yea, whoever, whoever was watching Magnus and Alec while they were all at the bar, well it's not good news. Then the situation gets even worse...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, of course good things don't always remain that way...

_Earlier (in the bar)_

“Hmm, isn’t that Magnus Bane?” Raj said to Victor, as they sat by the bar. He pointed out the Asian man that had started to make his way through the crowd..

Victor rolled his eyes at the all-too-familiar guy, as a scowl formed upon his face. “Yea, like I care about that guy,” he muttered. “Still can’t believe they let him win, I still think he plays dirty -- ”

“Wait,” Raj’s voice made Victor pause, and turn to look at him quizzically. And he didn’t even need to ask the question – as Magnus was clearly pulling someone by the hand through the crowd. And that someone was clearly – unequivocably – their frat brother, Alec Lightwood.

Raj and Victor looked at one another, dumbfounded. What was this?

Just then someone sat down next to them. 

“Hey boys, what’s poppin’?” a sugary female voice stated flirtatiously.

Both Raj and Victor nearly jumped up from their seats, as they quickly turned to face the new visitor in their midst. And their eyes nearly popped out from their sockets at the sight of the Head Cheerleader, Camille Belcourt. Her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders belonging to a very svelte body, clad in a body hugging dark blue v neck dress. She had her demin jacket slung around her shoulders. 

She fluttered her lashes at them, smirking when they both nearly buckled in reaction. 

Then something made her turn slightly, and her whole posture _stilled._

_Magnus._

Her most recent ex, after a 2 year relationship – and _who claimed that he couldn’t live without her_ …had just walked past them in the crowd. 

Holding the hand of a cute, dark haired boy with hazel eyes.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. 

But in the next minute, she just shook her head slightly, with a short laugh. “Pick of the night, I suppose,” she murmured to herself. 

There’s no way he would have been over her that quickly, as the poor boy was only pledging his undying love to her a few months ago when she had finally decided to call it quits. Or rather, when he had unfortunately found her in a rather compromising position…

 _Ah well, it is what it is,_ she thought, shrugging the thoughts away. 

Still, it kinda ate at her. _Who was that guy?_

Straightening her shoulders, she turned to face the two fraternity boys currently enamored with him. Maybe this was her chance to get some information..

“So,” she said, leaning in closer. “Do either of you know who that guy is, that Magnus brought in with him?”

…..

The three watched Magnus interact with his buddies – who Camille tagged as the do-gooders, she couldn’t stand them—and that dark-haired guy, who Raj and Victor had confirmed was Jace Herondale’s older brother, Alec Lightwood, a recent fraternity brother.

“Hmm,” Camille mused, “It certainly seems like it’s Alec who is initiating things more on some level. Hmm Magnus, you are losing your touch…”

Raj and Victor turned to her. “What do you mean by that?” Raj asked.

“Well,” Camille said, “I kept telling Magnus to one-up the competition by getting on the inside and finding out vulnerable spots. But…it almost seems as if your man Alec Lightwood is doing exactly that. I can see the strategy from a mile away.”

She grinned then, as if entirely proud for being able to figure that out.

Both Raj and Victor gaped at Camille, and then looked at one another. 

“Wow,” Raj said finally. “Never thought Lightwood had it in him to do that! Man, now why didn’t we think to do that…”

Victor stared at Raj blankly.

“Well, I can think of a reason why we didn’t think of it.” He pointed to how Alec and Magnus were currently interacting with one another, shooting darts, while sticking their tongue out at one another. “There’s obviously _something_ there, that Alec knows how to work with…”

“Yea,” Victor said. “It definitely looks that way. Well, good for Alec, that he was able to pick up on that and use it to his advantage. Maybe our house will get the title back, yet…”

They whooped, high-fiving one another. 

Next to them, Camille just grinned. They just fell for it – hook, line, and sinker. _These boys were so easily influenced, they would believe anything…_

Her eyes fell upon Magnus and Alec, who were now doing shots with the group and seemed to be having a blast with one another. Her eyes narrowed.

 _Your days are numbered,_ she thought.

…..

_“Oh my god. NO WAYYY!”_

The three were hushed – with even Camille’s mouth dropping open. They saw the foursome leave the bar after awhile, and as two of the friends left – Magnus and Alec were left alone sitting on the bench. 

Next thing they knew, the two ended up in a liplock, right outside on a bench outside of the bar, with Alec initiating it.

They seemed oblivious to everyone around them.

“Damn, Alec, that’s some game you got,” Raj said, whistling in admiration.

Victor chuckled. “I think after this, Alec gets the top prize for strategy. This is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed. He is totally _ALL IN_ for this!” he said, “I can’t wait to congratulate him personally for even coming up with it. It is just too devious!”. 

Turning to Camille, he said excitedly, “This is going to be the most exciting competition ever!”

“Yes,” Camille said tightly, her eyes never leaving the duo. Her lips were now pressed in a firm line.

“Hey, you should come to the competition, Camille,” Raj said brightly. “Your sexy self is always welcome, you know…”

Camille immediately brightened. “You know,” she said slowly, as a smile made its way across her face. “I think I just might. Thank you, boys. You sure know how to make a girl feel special…”

She inhaled, and then threw Raj a flirtatious wink.

A flush appeared across Raj’s cheeks. Camille snickered inwardly. Ah, boys, she thought.

******

Alec blinked. 

The room was dark, and he was – lying on a couch? With a throw blanket over his body…and still in his clothes from last night? _Hmm, so…._

Suddenly he was hit with a coughing fit, and his body seized from the inside. He bolted upright, his hand on his chest.

Immediately there was someone at his side. He turned. It was Jace.

“Hey buddy, easy there,” he cautioned, smiling a lopsided grin. “You were really out of it before…”

“H-How’d I end up here?” Alec wondered aloud.

“Bane brought you back,” Jace said. He furrowed his brows. ‘You don’t remember that?”

 _Oh, right. The bar…his friend Ragnor’s birthday._ _Then...sitting outside, and…._

Alec’s eyes widened. _OH, RIGHT. THAT…._

His heart started beating erratically. 

_Oh, Alec_ , his brain reasoned. _No need to overreact. You were only making out with probably one of the most beautiful men that you have ever met…_

_YEA. EXACTLY, THAT._

He suddenly realized Jace was peering at him curiously. “What?” he asked, confused.

Jace blinked, but his gaze remained transfixed at something on Alec’s left side. “Hmm, didn’t see that before,” he said finally. “I guess, it was a good time tonight, eh Alec? Who got lucky tonight?””

“What are you talking about?” Alec asked.

“This over there,” Jace said, touching the left side of his own neck to indicate where he was looking at.

_WHAT!_

_…OH. RIGHT._ Alec closed his eyes and groaned as everything came back to him. Yea, that had been enjoyable. _Maybe a bit TOO enjoyable…_

_Imagining Magnus’s soft lips against his neck at that moment…._

He shuddered. 

_SHIT,_ he was getting all sorts of feelings again. This was not something he wanted to happen, while Jace was standing around, scrutinizing him…

“Nah, it’s nothing,” he muttered, averting his eyes. “It was one-time thing…I think.” 

It wasn’t even really a white lie. Who knew if it would even happen again. Who knew if it was just a fluke, a mistake... 

_Well, it hadn’t felt like a mistake_ … Alec could admit that to himself. However, feelings weren’t always indicative of reality.

_Anyway, it’s not like they traded numbers or anything ---_

Something was buzzing in his pocket. His phone…Alec fumbled for it, and clicked the display on.

Or…maybe they _did._

_Magnus: Hey, I hope you don’t mind, your brother was here, so I left you in his care. Anyway hope you don’t have a hangover later, I’ll understand if you end up not making class later. Thanks for coming out to the bar._

“Oh, I gave him your number before,” Jace said casually, as he glanced at Alec’s phone, and answering Alec’s unasked question. “He told me to make sure you were okay today, and to say hi from him. I told him, here, you can do it yourself.” He shrugged. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Alec’s head was spinning. “Uh, no…” he said, now feeling even more mixed. “…thanks?”

Jace grinned. “You’re welcome,” he said. 

He pushed a bottle of water and a bottle of aspirin into Alec’s hands. “Here, take this before you get a headache, and before you throw up all over the couch,” he said.

Alec gratefully accepted both, and proceeded to take it.

“Thanks, Jace,” Alec said, giving him a small smile on his face. Jace winked, before turning to walk back upstairs.

Alec hummed as he settled back on the couch, already half drifting back to sleep.

*******

“Hey, Lightwood!” 

_Oh god, it’s the dastardly duo,_ Alec thought, wincing.. He pasted a smile on his face as he turned.

Victor and Raj were in front of him _._

“Hey, what’s up,” Alec said automatically. Thank goodness it was already the afternoon, with no signs of hangover. And he’d already had two cups of coffee. Thus he felt much better about facing the day…

They were just looking at him, with expressions on their faces that he couldn’t fathom.

 _Appraising,_ even…

“Nice work, last night,” Raj said finally. “Saw you at the bar last night ---“

 _OH, WHAT...Alec_ silently cursed under his breath _. Well, of course, DUH,_ his brain registered _. College bar, of course you would have been seen._

_Dammit, he should have been more careful…_

“Good way to scope out the competition,” Raj asked admiringly. “Reel him in, then psyche him out when he’s not expecting, during the game.”

 _Eh?_ Alec thought, momentarily thrown by Raj’s statement. 

“Oh right,” he found himself saying, in a very casual ‘ _whatever’_ tone. “After all, gotta know what I’m up against, right?”

Alec hoped they wouldn't stay too much longer and try to make conversation. _He just wanted to enjoy his morning.._

Raj and Victor exchanged glances. Then Victor shook his head, huffing slightly. “Damn, you were right, Raj. He’s good,” he said, concedingly. 

He held up his hand toward Alec in a high-five gesture.

Uh, okay, Alec thought, the smile plastered on his face, returning the high five, even as his confusion remained. 

‘Yeaa, boy, we got this in the bag,” Raj said happily. “Anyway we gotta get going to class, see you later, boss man...”

He clapped Alec on the shoulder as they turned and left.

 _What was that?_ Alec thought, his brows still furrowed as he watched them leave.

It took him a moment to realize Jace had been standing just a few feet away. “Hey bro. You look a bit stunned,” Jace observed. “You alright?” 

“I – guess?” Alec said uncertainly.

Jace peered at him, as a small frown took over his features. “They were…talking about Bane, weren’t they,” he ventured. “The competition and all…”

Alec blinked. “Yea,” he said slowly. “I guess they were. Anyway they were right, I have to focus on this coming up.”

Jace rolled his eyes. “They sounded like they were putting words in your mouth…” He gazed at him intently. “Were they?” he asked pointedly.

“I only said that to get them to leave,” Alec stated, shrugging. “It worked, right?”

Now Jace was the one appraising him with an unreadable look, as if trying to figure him out. 

“Hm, true,” Jace admitted after a minute. “Anyway, to them, it was a huge deal that they lost last year. In the end it’s just a fun game. Don’t make it bigger than it already is, okay brother?”

 _Why was Jace making such a big deal out of this?_ Alec was suddenly a bit annoyed . He had handled that situation, hadn’t he? 

He met Jace’s gaze. “Right, noted,” Alec said.

Jace then smiled as if relieved. “Good to hear,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CH 5 to come


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus, who is fresh off his encounter with Alec, has the luck to run into someone unpleasant later in the day...
> 
> ... And experiences even _worse_ luck a short time later, unbeknownst to him...

Magnus smiled briefly at the class as he read off the last page of the book he was discussing in lecture. “And that should do it,” he said. Just then the bell rang, and students started getting up.

He called out a final reminder about the assignment due next session, and bent down to get his messenger bag. On his way out, his gaze flitted toward the empty seat right in the center of the lecture hall. 

Right, he hadn’t expected Alec to show up in class last night, especially after the festivities the night before.

And receiving Alec’s response to his text – “ _Thanks for looking after me. Yea the bar was great. Glad I came with. Ttyl, Alec_ – made him feel a small sense of relief. 

At least his message had been received well. That was the intention, anyway…

 _Are you sure that was the entirety of it?_ his brain thought. _Or were you expecting a bit more than that? After all he did kiss you –_

 _Shut it_ , he told himself firmly. Alec was drunk. It was probably just one of those things that only happened because of the alcohol involved…

But, then again – the past few weeks, it had felt like there was some sort of connection between them. Alec was so easy to be around, and he didn’t seem to mind the way he would go off on some subject – he actually appeared fascinated, and interested in what he had to say. Even if he had only listened out of respect, at least that was there. 

Magnus had to admit, he was definitely interested – and especially after that kiss. Alec had seemed to enjoy it, especially after it had gotten slightly heated. His cheeks grew warm upon remembering that. 

But physical attraction and chemistry aside, there were still a lot of great qualities and compassion in Alec.

In fact, he was a complete 180 from his ex, Camille Belcourt, just in terms of the type of person that he was. With Camille, two years of his life had come and gone – ranging from the best, like at the beginning. But his grades had suffered, and halfway through he had already figured out that she was only with him because he had done everything that she’d cajoled him into doing – pledging the fraternity, then all those parties. 

So many parties…he couldn’t even remember them all through the haze of it all –

She hadn’t been interested in him as person; in fact he tried to take her out on a real date but she would always bring the conversation back to social topics and what was going on around the campus…

He had fallen in deep, though, and did everything to try to keep her around. She’d definitely taken advantage of that . Then there was that big party, which could have triggered a serious downward spiral....

Luckily he had been pulled out of that just in time, by the last person he’d expected to help him. …

And then Catarina and Ragnor had taken care of him. He credited both of them for him bouncing back. But ultimately his relationship didn’t, and he finally saw her for who she was. 

He shook his head as he stepped out of the lecture hall, glad to see that the sun was still out and shining. There was nothing like a glorious sunny afternoon. In fact, maybe he’d go out to the quad, sit on the grass and eat his lunch while listening to tunes this afternoon –

“Magnus!” a high shrilled voice demanded his attention, as a hand touched his forearm. Magnus’s eyes widened, as his attention was suddenly focused upon the person who accosted him. 

_Camille._

Still looking as beautiful as ever, with her long raven locks flipped out, and wearing a magenta t shirt dress over her denim jacket. And smiling at him.

She tilted her head to one side as she looked at him. “How you doing, Magnus?” she asked in a dulcet tone of voice.

“Hello, Camille,” he said in a guarded tone of voice. “Oh, I’m good. About to go eat my lunch in the quad by myself, I need to grade some papers. That was bit of a lie, but that would certainly deter her. One the things she claimed to find boring about him would be how focused he was on his work as a TA.

“Oh, those,” Camille scoffed. Magnus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why of course, he thought. 

But then the expression on her face quickly changed, and she smiled. “Actually, I’m walking that way, if you don’t mind the company. We can catch up a bit,” she suggested.

Magnus shrugged. “It’s a free country,” he said diffidently, truly not caring any way what she decided to do. 

Whether she picked up on that or not, she didn’t show it. She only grinned, and fell in step with him as they started walking.

 _Wow,_ Magnus thought, _was she going to be borderline tolerable today?_

They walked together for the next 10 minutes, making small talk about things going on around them, etc. And it really did seem like that things were going incredibly well. No talk about the fraternity or things revolving around it…

“So, the beer pong competition is coming up soon, isn’t it?” Camille asked in a casual tone of voice, as they approached the corner closest to the quad. 

Magnus nearly bristled. Why, of course she was going to go back to her favorite topics before long. Why had he even thought differently…

“Yup,” he said slowly . “It is.”

“I heard that your main competition may be Jace Herondale’s brother, Alec Lightwood,” she said. 

“Oh, yea? Who did you hear that from?” _Typical Camille…_

“Oh, Raj and Victor. You know them, always telling everyone everything…” Camille said, in a lilting tone of voice. 

_Of course, those two jackoffs_ …Magnus thought irritably, but held his tongue. Camille had kept talking. 

“Anyway they said they saw you at the bar, and that they saw you hanging out with Alec,” she added, with a tinge of something in her voice. 

“Yea, he came to celebrate Ragnor’s birthday with us,” Magnus said. “It was pretty fun…”

“Oh yea” I’m so glad to hear that,” Camille replied. But now there was a slight catch in her voice, that Magnus couldn’t fathom. And he thought he saw something flash in her eyes. But that disappeared just as fast as it came.

“Anyway, I’m not sure I should be telling you this,” Camille said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, as she moved closer to him. Magnus’s eyes narrowed. This was akin to how she was when she was about to drop gossip. He always hated this about her…

“It concerns you, though, so I really thought you should know,” Camille said, suddenly looking all doe-eyed, leaning her head to the side. “And Alec.”

At that, Magnus’s attention was suddenly focused upon Camille.

“What about Alec?” he said, trying to keep his voice as unaffected as possible. 

Camille continued to look innocent as she said, “Well, they said they kinda saw you two hanging out and getting close…and even making out…?” 

“And you believed that? Those two will say anything!” Magnus said, but his heart was starting to get erratic. Anyway he was not going to give Camille, of all people, the satisfaction….

“Yea, I know, right?” Camille laughed. “Don’t worry, I don’t believe them or anything. But lets say I did…” She trailed off, and then started looking pensive. “Well, if I did, then I would be very concerned for you, Mags,” she said, suddenly using a very kittenish type of voice – Magnus recognized this as the voice she would use on him whenever she was trying to get something out from him.

“Oh?” Magnus said. Despite himself, now he wanted to know. He cursed inwardly, as he clenched his hands into tight fists. “Spill it, Camille…”

Camille looked at him cajolingly. “Just don’t be mad, okay?” she pleaded. “Anyway, Raj and Victor said that Alec has a habit of doing that – he’s the quintessential frat boy throughout, he will do anything to win for his House. .He tries to infiltrate the competition, by pretending to be their friend, and even beyond that. So, after I heard that, I just wanted to make sure he hadn’t gotten that far with you.”

Camille’s words came out in a huge rush, and now she breathed deeply, standing only inches from Magnus, who had stopped walking, and was now staring at her.

Could that be true? Magnus thought, suddenly feeling doubtful about him and Alec. Is that why he hadn’t texted him more in the last two days? I mean, if you truly liked someone, wouldn’t you want to talk to them more, not less?

“Right,” he managed to say, as he steeled his voice a bit. 

He kept his gaze directly on hers. 

“Well, don’t worry about that, even if something like were to happen,” he said, through gritted teeth, I wouldn’t fall for it. Especially not from Alec. No way. I appreciate your telling me, you were always really good in getting things out from other people…” 

In fact he had been so adamantly focused upon her as he said those words, that he failed to see her eyes flit over to the side of him for the briefest second, before coming back to him, a small smile playing along her lips.

“I’m so glad you feel that way,” she said, her voice suddenly incredibly soft, her dark brown eyes gazing at him. 

And then, suddenly – _without warning_ – her tongue were suddenly in his mouth, her body and arms pressed up against his.

**************

Alec just _stared_ – at the couple suddenly stopping to make out on the side of the quad. And as far as he could tell, they were hot and heavy.

He had decided to go to the convenience mart on campus to get some snacks and drinks, and decided to cut through the quad.

Hence, running into… _THIS._

No -- that wasn’t _Magnus_ , was it? It sure looked an awful lot like him, especially with that brown messenger bag he always carried with him. He would know that in a heartbeat. 

But Catarina said he wasn’t seeing anyone right now…right? 

But that girl was walking pretty close to him. And then they had stopped. That’s when the girl had crushed her lips and body against his.

Well,it wasn’t as if that night at the bar mattered, really, he thought desperately, trying to reason with himself. It was just one kiss. Well, a few kisses, to be exact. And he still hadn’t given nearly enough thought about what he might have wanted things to be like –

But now – given this in front of him….

He couldn’t deny it. It hurt. _A lot._ His heart felt like something slammed into it. _Hard._

Just then, the girl opened her eye and looked at _him_ intently. 

Alec looked away quickly, flustered. The last thing he needed people to think was that he was a stalker or someone giving staredowns to others.

Pivoting on his foot, he walked away quickly, his cheeks burning.

…..

 _OH WHAT THE FUCK!_ Magnus’s brain screamed, as Camille suddenly lunged at him. He had been taken by surprise. And she was currently pressing every curve she had into him.

Which admittedly felt really nice, as did the tongue in his mouth. Everything moved in sync between them, as it always had. 

In fact, it was only too easy for his mind and reactions to go on autopilot in the moments that followed. 

Sexual chemistry had never been an issue between them

 _Just like old times..._

_BUT SHE CHEATED ON YOU---! AND TREATED YOU LIKE DIRT --_

Fury rose within him. Magnus then pushed Camille away with as much force as he could. 

“Uh, what was that?” he asked acridly.

Camille looked at him, doe-eyed. “It seeme like we had a moment,” she said finally. “And I realized how much...I miss you, Maggie.” Her voice had lowered to that of a purr at the end of the sentence, and she stepped closer to him again.

Magnus took two big steps back. “Uh uh. Not going down this road again. Besides how about your finance major guy?” he said, nearly sputtering. _Yea, the guy she cheated on him with…_

“Oh,” Camille said airily, “He was just a fling. A mistake. There’s no one better than you, Maggie. I miss you. A lot.” She then sighed. “But yea, I know, I know. There's no coming back from that. Do you think we could at least…be friends?”

She looked genuinely regretful.

 _Friends? Uh no_ , Magnus thought. But…he didn’t want to be mean. “

"Uh, Sure,” he said edgily. “Friends.” They shook on it.

Camille smiled, then looked down at her watch. “Oh, wow, I have some place to go! I’ll see you later…friend!” she said quickly. She leaned in to press her lips against Magnus’s cheek. Magnus recoiled slightly, his eyes widening. 

“Bye!” she said, waving as she rushed off. Magnus just stood where he was, still in shock, watching her go. 

………………………..

_An hour and a half later_

Alec - having gone to the convenience store -- was now back at the House, sitting on his bed and brooding, his knees up to his chest.

Man, as if his day couldn’t have gotten any worse…the girl who Magnus had been in a liplock with, had ended up at the convenience store also! 

So it had suddenly become uncomfortable in there. 

Then – she had _started talking – like, who starts talking with a stranger, out of nowhere?_

And of course it was all about the beer pong competition coming up…that her _boyfriend_ was competing in.

Alec’s eyes had nearly bugged out of their sockets. “Boyfriend,” he nearly choked out. Why, of course. 

_But he was still confused._

Then again, maybe Magnus had not updated Catarina about them getting back together, especially if it happened recently.

And then happened to mention how her boyfriend had gotten “chummy” with the competition, as to pick them off easily. 

Upon hearing that part, Alec couldn’t take it anymore – he had quickly excused himself, paid for his chips and soda, and quickly left without saying goodbye.

_Would Magnus do something like that? Would he?_

He was pretty flirty though! And he _had_ won the competition twice in a row…What if he was just someone Magnus was playing? 

Argh, so many questions, and not enough answers…

Sighing, Alec put his head in his hands, feeling anguished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 to come


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec's attempts at coping with his feelings doesn't go too well, and Jace notices...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags: Uncharacteristic behaviors may appear in this chapter

_“Hey, Alec.”_

Alec looked up from where he was sitting on the porch on the side of the fraternity house, with his earbuds in one ear, just chilling to some tunes. 

"Oh, hey," Alec stated, 

Jace was looking down at him, with concern etched all over his face.

“Haven’t seen you at the common area hangouts as of late...” he said hesitantly.

Jace's eyes held his gaze, a question in them.

 _Everything okay?_ The earnest look and concern within them gave Alec pause, making him swallow hard.

He struggled to keep his emotions at bay before speaking. 

“I’m good, Jace. Just wanted some alone time,” he said in what he hoped was an assuming, casual tone of voice. Inside, his emotions were conflicting with one another, pushing and pulling within one another. Part of him hoped Jace would do his usual thing -- smile, shrug and say, "okay then, see you later." But he also kinda wanted him to stay. 

Somehow he didn't have the strength to decide --

The expression on Jace’s face didn’t change, as he silently stood there.

And... eventually Alec relented.

“You can sit, if you want,” Alec offered. Without another word, Jace nodded, and then plopped down next to him. And a small smile tugged at the edge of his lips, which Alec returned with a nod of affirmation.

They both sat there for the next few moments, without speaking. And yet, Alec started to feel slightly better, just with Jace being there next to him. That was a testimony to their bond as siblings.

Besides, Jace didn't even need to say anything. Alec knew Jace knew how things have been going with him... What he'd said before, had hit the nail right on the head. 

Alec had been purposely ducking out of things. 

These past two weeks, this area, a lesser frequented spot of the House, had become his usual spot, where he would be studying or just trying to be incognito. 

He had consciously avoided the common areas of the House, as he hadn’t wanted any unwanted run-ins with the other brothers of the House, and especially with the beer pong competition coming up. 

It was all anyone wanted to talk about. 

And, every time someone started to bring it up, all he could think about was that girl’s nasally voice from the convenience store, blaring into his head, making him wince, as if he was hearing and feeling long fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard –

_Tearing his heart out –_

_As that blasted image of that girl wrapping herself around Magnus in the Quad kept playing on a damn loop inside his head…_

He shuddered, with a pitiful noise coming out of his throat before he could stop it.

_OH GOD, HOW PATHETIC COULD HE POSSIBLY GET --_

Jace turned to look at him. 

“Dude,” he said, looking at him intently. “You are _not_ okay. Want to talk about it?”

Alec shook his head slowly. “Not really, Jace,” he said, sighing. “It’s not something anyone can help me with. I was just… _fooled_ by someone that I thought I was getting a good feel for, that’s all. And normally it wouldn’t even bother me so much. But the timing of it all just… _sucks_. It really, really does…”

He turned away, just staring into space, feeling forlorn. 

“Man, I’m sorry you’re going through this, Alec. I really am.” Jace’s voice was empathetic. 

Alec turned back toward him, giving him a small smile of thanks.

Jace seemed to be contemplating something, as he bit his lip.

“Hmm,” Jace mused. “Well I could always just tell the brothers if you aren’t up to doing all of this, the competition –”

“No,” Alec said immediately, holding up a hand. If there was one thing he couldn’t do without right now, it was _this._

_HE NEEDED THIS…_

“I’m going through with this. No question, whatsoever. I didn’t go through all this shit in the last few months to just give this up. Besides, this is all that I have, right now. “ He sighed, as he ran his fingers through his hair.

He gritted his teeth. _Ugh, feelings were the worst…_

Jace continued to look at him. “Are you sure, Alec?” he asked.

Alec nodded jerkily, averting his eyes. 

This was really all he had left at the moment. 

It was really ironic, as this competition was the actual _cause_ for his despair right now.

However, it was also serving as the biggest distraction from his personal problems -- at least within the last two weeks.. 

......

During the moments when the game room was unoccupied within the past two weeks, he went down there, set up the cups and practiced – usually with turning on the angtiest and heaviest rock songs blasting in his ears.

And he threw ball, after ball, after ball – executing perfect arcs, right into each of the cups..

And _so what_ if he pictured Magnus’s perfect face as he aimed for each cup? Or that blasted image of that girl smashing face with Magnus?

_It was just too much for him to take…._

And just as he was about to hit the lowest rungs of despair, something within him snapped, and he started to get pissed. To hell with both of them. 

_To hell with HIM…._

And then, what were formerly soft arcs thrown into cups, suddenly became harder and harder throws, with Alec’s breath coming faster and faster, as the spiralling of hateful confusion and betrayal swirled within him..

 _“Take that!”_ he’d yelled at one point. _“YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BEST ME, NOT EVEN! NO, NO ONE GETS TO DO THAT TO ME. AND ESPEICALLY NOT YOU, MAGNUS BANE!!”_

What followed was a perfect six shots in a row.

After that, he had nearly fallen back, half in exhaustion from all the emotions exuding off of him. Half in shock that he had managed to make that many shots in a row.

“Whoa,” he had uttered, his breaths coming out unevenly as he heaved them forth. He didn’t realize how much anger and frustration he had built up inside –

_Hmm, and that seemed to help his game –_

A plan started forming within his head.

Ugh, this was so not like him. He was not the type to be vengeful.

 _But…he couldn’t help it._ He hadn’t expected all of this to hit him so HARD. 

He…didn’t expect to hurt so much from all of this. But he was….

He shut his eyes tightly, as his hands gripped the side of the table, bracing himself as he leaned forward, feelings of anguish threatening to rush up within him

 _NO! HE WAS NOT GOING TO LET THIS GET THE BEST OF HIM!_ he thought angrily, gritting his teeth..

And then – before he knew what was happening, his fists had connected with the table, _HARD -- his frustrations and rage completely overpowering him_

The whole table tipped over, flipping over to one side, sending the cups and water tumbling and flying toward the floor. 

Shocked, Alec jumped back immediately, just narrowly avoiding the impact. 

Breathing hard, he surveyed the area. _OH GOD, ALEC. WHATS WRONG WITH YOU!_ his brain screamed. 

Thank god none of the other brothers had been down here, shit! What if they had seen this? Such a crappy, immature display of runaway emotions.

_This is ridiculous, and you know it!_

_He’s not worth all of this! Not anymore. Get yourself together, Lightwood. He’s the competition._

_And your job is to DEMOLISH him, just like he tore you apart._

His eyes narrowed, as his heart slowly hardened with resolve. 

Yea, he thought. That was all he could do. To preserve any sense of dignity and self-respect. The best way to deal with this was to be ahead of him at all times. To one-up him. Even if it meant he had to play dirty, and to air all dirty laundry. 

_NO HOLDS BARRED._

That was the only way to stay intact. 

Slowly, a gleeful smile spread across Alec’s face. 

With new resolve, he started picking up the cups. Eventually things were set up anew. He would just make up some excuse about all the spillage all over the rug. After all, it was a HOUSE of frat guys, anything and everything happened everywhere in here. 

Alec having a momentarily lapse in behavior wouldn’t even factor much, compared to all the previous things that had happened in here. As it was, Alec rarely even acted out, or acted on his emotions –ever. 

He swore to do better. Be better – going forward.

But…for this upcoming competition, especially against ---

_MAGNUS._

And Alec winced. Ugh it even hurt to mention his name in his head.

But…right. For this competition…the gloves were off. 

_DEAD ASS._

….

“Alec.” Jace was saying his name. And then Alec realized, he had drifted off into his thoughts. Man, it was just so easy for him to do that these days…

Jace was looking at him a bit funny. He gestured toward his watch.

“Uh, isn’t it time for English class? You know, the one with Bane?” he asked.

Alec winced at the mention of the name. It never fails, he thought despairingly. 

He cleared his throat, willing his voice to stay even as he spoke. 

“I talked to the professor,” he said. “I thought the evening hours didn’t suit me. So he’s letting me sit in an earlier section on Tuesdays.”

“Oh,” Jace said, evidently surprised. “Well, that’s good. I’m glad you were able to swing that.”

Alec smiled faintly. “Yea, me too. It’s better for everyone.” The words slipped out before he realized it.

“Better…for everyone?” Jace inquired. His eyes fell upon Alec’s again, now inquisitive. He squinted at him. “You are getting real cryptic these days, Alec…”

“Never mind,” Alec muttered. “The whole situation was leaving a bad in my mouth, that’s all. Happy to be rid of it…”

Jace continued to gaze at him intently. Then he shrugged. “Well, alright, bro, if that’s what you think is best.” He stood up, and stretched a bit. And then he looked down at Alec, again. 

“Bane asked about you,” he said finally.

Alec froze. But he continued to look straight ahead, taking even breaths, even as his heart had started to beat erratically in his chest.

“That’s nice,” he said absentmindedly, trying not to picture him in his head. Not right now, when he was in the throes of trying to prepare mentally for the beer pong competition.

“Anyway,” Jace said, “He was asking how he hadn’t seen you around, and especially in class.”

“Oh, he _did. Did he_ …” Alec mused.

 _Nice, Alec._ Sounding disinterested, and distracted…

“Yea, well. I can see your thoughts about it, “ Jace said. There was a terse silence between them.

“Listen, this isn’t about what Raj and Victor have been telling everyone about, is it?”

Alec froze, yet again. Now he turned to face Jace.

“What exactly have they been saying?” Alec asked tentatively, his heart hammering in his chest.

“Oh, nothing detailed,” Jace said. “Just that they somehow _KNOW_ that we have the competition in the bag, and that your strategy for beating Magnus has put other’s attempts to shame.”

Alec hummed. “People will believe what they want to believe, Jace,” he said evasively.

He felt Jace’s eyes upon him. “This isn’t like you, Alec,” he said. “You seem really bothered. And the way they were making it sound, it was as if you had done it through underhanded means. You didn’t do that, did you?”

_Of course he didn’t…_

However, Alec said nothing, only looking askance at him. 

He shrugged. “Isn’t winning the most important thing?” he said diffidently.

He knew he was stoking the flames, but at that moment, he couldn’t care less.

“ _Alec._ Remember what I said before? It’s only a game,” Jace said, with a tinge of caution in his voice. “Don’t make this to be something it’s not. Like I said before, Bane is a nice guy, despite being in a different House and all…”

“Oh yea?” Alec couldn’t help his voice raising up slightly. He had had enough. Now he looked at Jace pointedly. “Actually, I’m not in the mood to hear about him. He is the competition and that’s it, and I should have kept my distance from him, period. But that’s my lesson to bear.”

Jace started to open his mouth, but Alec held up his hand, and Jace didn’t continue. 

“No, don’t ask me about it right now. I don’t want to talk about it,” Alec insisted. “Anyway the focus is going to be on winning this thing. I don’t care what I need to do or to say in order for that to happen. Just drop it, okay, Jace?”

His voice, at first strong and unrelenting, had ended up trembling and pleading. God he hated it.

Jace blinked. “Sure, Alec,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean anything by it. You do what you need to do, man.” He then smiled. “It would be nice to have the claim to fame back at the House again, though. We are all counting on you!” 

He bent down to give his brother a hug. 

Alec hugged him back tightly. _God did he ever need it…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, Alec isn't really taking any of this well isn't it? How will this affect him as the event gets closer?
> 
> Chapter 7 to come


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day of the competition arrives...

Before they all knew it, the day of the competition had come. 

Alec smiled, tightlipped, as he sat at the kitchen table, as a few fraternity brothers hovered around him.

Some were actively trying to talk to him, while others came and went, slapping him on the back to wish him good luck for the competition this afternoon. 

Alec smiled faintly, acknowledging everyone, while resisting the urge to roll his eyes. 

Truthfully he was half dreading tonight. It had been weeks since he’d seen or spoken to Magnus. 

He groaned inwardly, more acutely aware than ever of the phone in his pocket, laden with messages that he hadn’t responded to. 

Magnus had texted him a few times – once to ask why he hadn’t come to class. 

Then the message, a few days later, had been more of a statement, “Oh, I see you transferred due to schedule. Well, I’m sorry to see that.” 

And then the third message, just a few days ago, was along with lines of “Hey, are we okay? I haven’t heard from you...”

Yea, that third message was excruciating. 

He recalling reading that message. Instantaneously, the image of Camille and Magnus smashing face by the Quad had popped up in his head, along with the memory of her nasally voice stating “my boyfriend’s totally undermining the competition.” 

_Like some cruel loop going on and on in his head._

That day, he became so unraveled by that, he stomped downstairs to the game room, and practiced. And practiced for hours. And took a few beers from the refrigerator downstairs. And took a few swigs of beer, which soon became can after can. 

Until his despair turned into determination to win the game, at any cost. And that feeling of vengeance – _similar to that other day_ \-- flowed through his veins.

And poisonous, toxic words flowed through his head, ready to be spoken at an opportune time.

He was again making shot after shot after shot, once again…

_And only then – did he see fit to stop. The bad feelings had gone away._

However, it had exhausted him, terribly. 

Alec barely remembered dragging himself upstairs to his room. But he found himself the next day- sprawled diagonally across his bed, his legs half dangling off the bed, as if in post-collapse.

That was when he decided to get up, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

_Good, he did not develop a hangover._ But his heart – and soul – felt incredibly empty. 

He blinked, twice. 

And decided that he would ultimately survive.

……………….

A hand landed on his shoulder just then. Alec turned, pasting a smile on his face, expecting it to be yet another fraternity brother, passing by the dining room to wish him good luck. 

It was Jace.

Alec breathed a sigh of relief. “Hey, Jace,” he said. 

Jace smiled, and gestured toward the table. “Can I join you?” he asked.

Alec nodded at the empty chair next to him.

Jace sat down. He glanced at Alec’s half-eaten brunch. “Man, they didn’t leave you alone for a second, did they,” he chortled. 

Alec smiled. “Nope, “ he said. “I guess everyone’s pretty excited for later today…” He trailed off.

“Ready for tonight, Alec? You’ve seemed tense these past few days, ” Jace asked. He was still smiling but now it held a tinge of concern. 

Alec’s smile faltered. 

“A little nervous,” he said. And then added, “W-Well, M-Magnus has won the competition for two years running. Who wouldn’t be nervous?” He laughed awkwardly.

Jace kept staring at Alec. “Something happened, didn’t it,” he stated quietly.

Alec bristled. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” he protested. 

“You’re acting all weird, Alec. So wound up. It’s not like you at all,” Jace said. “But also, I’m a bit confused. That night, when he walked you back from class…and then when he brought you back from the bar. Well, you two seemed to really get along.” Jace hesitated, then spoke again. “And then I thought –"

“Well, you thought wrong,” Alec said abruptly. “Just drop it, okay?”

Jace looked contrite. “Of course,” he agreed. “Anything, brother.”

Alec smiled in resignation, as he fought the unexpected pressure starting behind his eyes. 

He turned away, blinking and taking slow deep breaths to calm down.

…………………

The backyard of the House was packed with fraternity brothers from both fraternities, sitting and standing by the sidelines.

Alec stood a bit off to the side, leaning against the side of the house, pretending to look at something on his phone. 

Luckily, a few hours ago, Jace had done him a solid and clued everyone in that Alec needed some alone time to ‘get into the mindset’ for competition. 

After hearing that, everyone gladly dispersed off to the side, just giving Alec smiles in passing. 

Alec had smiled back gratefully, glad for the break from having to be social.

He was still not the greatest with these things.

Taking a deep breath, he absentmindedly thumbed through the unread message list.

He felt the presence looming over him, before he spoke. Warm, and familiar… _and ugh he didn’t need this right now…_

“Hey, Alexander,” the all-too-familiar musical voice said quietly. 

Alec shut his eyes briefly, suddenly all his senses going into overdrive. He gritted his teeth.

 _It’s just a hello, Alec_ , he told himself. _You can do this…_

Taking a deep breath, he turned, to face Magnus. Whom he hadn’t seen in weeks.

“How’s it going,” he said, attempting for some semblance of a smile with his mouth.

Magnus smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“It’s been busy,” he said simply. “I figure it’s been busy for you too, eh?” He nodded toward his phone. “Too busy to answer your messages, eh?”

His tone held a tinge of… _hurt? confusion?_ And his eyes held a look akin to “ _You didn’t call me…after all of –THAT?”_

Alec narrowed his eyes. _HOW DARE ---_

_He felt like he wanted to SPIT._

“I’d had a lot to deal with, the past couple of weeks,” Alec responded tightly. “You also had your hands full, I’m sure.” _And mouth. And tongue. And trying to maintain a schedule, especially when trying to juggle more than one --_

Alec’s voice was practically dripping with barely concealed venom.

He didn’t even want to start visualize things that were going to make him physically sick. He was already _beyond_ heartsick.

He had no idea how excruciating this was going to be…

Magnus, to Alec’s annoyance, had the nerve to look even more confused, as well as impatient. “Alexander. Are you _implying_ something by that? It sure sounds like it –"

Against his will, anger surged within Alec as he stared at him, incredulously. 

_Alec wasn’t the one who –_

“Maggie! There you are! Don’t you need to get ready, sweetheart?”

Alec winced, as another voice – too-familiar, and one he wished he could forget – punctured the space around them. 

To his surprise, he saw Magnus physically recoil upon hearing her voice.

 _“Camille_ ,” he said, almost as if it pained him to speak her name.

Now Alec was the one who was confused. Wait, why was he reacting that way? _Wasn’t she his –_

“Hope you weren’t waiting long,” she said sweetly, as she came to stand next to Magnus. Her eyes immediately took Alec in, a look of distaste on her face. Alec bristled inwardly. 

_What was she up to?_ he wondered. And what did _he_ ever do to her?

“Ah, it’s you. We meet again,” she said coolly, her brown eyes flashing. It wasn’t a friendly look, by any means.

That made Magnus turn to her, a surprised look upon her face. “When did you meet A—”

Just then, Camille’s mouth formed an O as she said, “Oh my god, Maggie. Don’t tell me _HE’S_ the competition!”

Her high falsetto made Alec cringe. 

God he detested her _. If Magnus wanted to hang around these types –_

He steeled himself to face Magnus. 

“Yea, you know what? _BRING IT. BRING YOUR A GAME._ I’m ready,” he challenged icily. “ _Do your worst, innuendos, insults, and all -- Bane.”_

An unreadable expression crossed Magnus’s face, with his eyes going from hurt and confused – to one suddenly darkened with challenge.

“Will do, _Lightwood_ ,” Magnus stated evenly. 

Alec nodded curtly. _And no, he was not going to shake on it._

Turning on his heel, he walked toward the area to join the rest of the brothers of his fraternity.

*************

Alec thought he was doing quite well, trying to mingle with Jace and the brothers. Despite feeling one particular person stare upon his back, his eyes like two burning embers of fire.

He did his best to ignore it, though. 

After all, he was probably just imagining things. Magnus was with Camille right? _And he was his opponent._

_Who he needed to beat at his own game, tonight._

Right, as long as he ignored the impulse to turn around -- yes, he was doing just fine at the moment, thank you very much.

Alec looked down at his drink in a large red cup, the one that tasted sweet yet really strong at the same time. 

He winced at the first taste of it, then forced himself to sip from it.

“What is this?” he asked Jace, his own voice coming out a bit slurred.

Jace only threw his head back and laughed – then pointed vaguely at the large table, which had a giant cooler on it. 

And there were frat brothers scooping up copious amounts of similarly colored liquid with a spare cup into their own, and then downing it. 

OH, it was like some kind of Jungle Juice thing, all types of alcohol and mixers –

He made a mental note to not drink beyond this one cup – he didn’t need to mess himself up even more than he already was. 

With the alcohol already in his system, along with the drama and overthinking, he was already walking a fine line…

…………………

Before long, he found myself standing in front of the large ping pong table, with red cups artfully arranged for the competition. 

As it was, he already felt like he was looking through somewhat of an alcoholic haze – that last cup of jungle juice had hit him a bit harder than he expected. 

But he was able to focus enough.

_Which was important –_

Because across from the table…now with an unreadable yet sharp look in his brown eyes, perfect hair, perfect clothing, perfect body, and an insufferable smirk –

_AND GOD WHY DID HE NEED TO BE SO DAMN PERFECT, YET INFURIATING --_

_(AND A FREAKIN LIAR)_

_MAGNUS BANE._

Who was coolly assessing him, with eyebrows raised.

Alec glowered. “Stop staring me down,” Alec snapped.

“Oh, does something bother you, Princess?” were the words that came out of that smirking mouth. “Oh, I’m sooo sorry that I offended your sensibilities. I will TRY to do better..”

This was followed by a loud uproarious laugh from a few fraternity brothers on Magnus’s side. 

His eyes flashed devilishly, as he threw Alec a wink – the same flirtatious wink that Alec had gotten very familia rwith in the past few weeks. But this one was turned up a zillion percent. 

_And he – MR MAGNUS BANE -- knew how lethal it was!_

Anyway, it didn’t faze Alec one bit, because he didn’t respond to _LIARS._ Or those capable of _DECEIT._

And so Alec threw back the biggest eyeroll, while sighing loudly.

“Is that REALLY the BEST you got? Oh, please,” Alec said, affecting a bored tone of voice. “Been there, seen that.”

Behind him, two obnoxious whoops could be heard, along with cackling.

Alec’s eyes narrowed. 

_RAJ AND VICTOR_ – they were right in back of him.

 _OK, check_ , Alec thought. _This better be a really good show – since they were both there_ , he thought, his brain still in an alcoholic haze. 

_Now he had something to prove…_

His mouth curved into a slight smile.

“Yea, why don’t’ you cut it with the distractions, and really start playing. Unless, you _DEFLECT_ , because you actually can’t play for real,” Alec declared, pressing his lips into a firm line toward the end.

He watched as the expression on Magnus’s face changed visibly, with his jaw set. His eyes, playful before, darkened. Now they were flashing. And he was no longer smiling.

His hard stare made Alec shudder slightly, despite his resolve to stay on top of things.

He had never seen Magnus this – _annoyed…_

“Alright,” Magnus said in a soft tone of voice, bordering on dangerous. “That’s what you want? It’s on…”

Behind him, his boys started _WHOOPING_ , with shouts of “ _WATCH OUT LIGHTWOOD, THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS!”_

Alec rolled his eyes in annoyance. Was this the most annoying thing that he’d ever been part of? Please…

“I don’t really care for all this hoopla. I mean, it’s great that you brought your own cheering rah rah squad and all, but we will let the skills speak for themselves, shall we?” Alec stated dryly.

“ _YO, THAT’S NOT COOL!”_ one of the guys on Magnus’s side yelled out.

Alec only shrugged indifferently. 

“We’re here to play,” he insisted. . He stared across the table, directly at Magnus’s flashing eyes. “So let's get to it.”

Magnus lifted his chin, as he narrowed his eyes, throwing a glare across the table at the now grinning Alec Lightwood. 

“Yea,” he stated, his voice now as emotionless as ice. “ _Let’s play_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the Games Begin!
> 
> Chapter 8 to come


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game is ON. Misunderstandings and reactive behavior seem to be at the center of it all.
> 
> Meanwhile, Jace, as a spectator, grows increasingly puzzled and concerned about Alec's behavior, particularly toward Magnus.

There was a hush over the backyard of the Delta Delta Kappa fraternity house as everyone settled down.

Two groups on either side – the brothers from Delta Delta Kappa to the left, and the brothers of Gamma Sigma Delta on the right – unusually quiet, compared to how they normally were.

Both waiting in anticipation as the two competitors for the beer pong competition -- Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane -- stood at opposite ends of the table, glaring at one another.

A fellow brother from from Gamma Sigma Delta started to make his way toward the table, stopping right in front of the both of them.

“Well,” the announcer said, “Everyone knows the rules, right? We are playing 2-ball 10 cup beer pong, so that means each team gets to throw two balls per round. The game doesn’t end until the last cup is knocked off. Otherwise, no holds barred. This is a skills competition after all. Oh, and House Rules in effect. We all know what those mean, right?”

Everyone whooped, clearly getting into it.

From where he was standing, Alec was barely listening to the fraternity brother speak -- only continuing to assess Magnus’s every move. Although, there actually wasn’t much to assess. Since their short confrontation at the beer pong table, there had been no other interaction. 

And Magnus, he seemed to be standing unnaturally still, his face impassive – with his gaze fixed solely at his fellow fraternity brother. He seemed oddly stilted and deflated, with his eyes flinty and darker than usual, portraying an expression that he couldn’t quite figure out.

In fact, it almost looked like ---

 _…Sorrow?_

_But, no, that couldn’t be…_

Alec then decided, he was probably just concentrating his energies into the game. _Blocking everything out, like he was attempting to…._

For a brief moment, he felt something within his heart give, that perhaps Magnus was as confused and hurt as he was…

But he pushed down that thought. _There was no way he could dwell on this._ _Not if the priority was the game --_

“Okay, take your places, and we will battle this out,” the guy announced.

He then flipped a coin. “Delta Delta Kappa goes first,” he announced.

“Cool, let’s sic them, Lightwood,” came the chorus of Victor and Raj, behind Alec. Alec winced slightly at the sound of their annoying voices, but managed to retain his composure, as he stared across the table at Magnus, who was staring back at him. 

Behind Magnus – Camille, _ugh who else?!_ – stared back at Alec coolly with a slight smile. Then she stood up and ambled closer to Magnus, placing a hand upon the small of his back. Magnus flinched slightly. 

_Ugh, she shouldn’t be touching him like that, not if he was trying to concentrate…_

Alec found himself getting annoyed at her. But then he pulled his thoughts back. 

_What are you doing? Why do you even care about what she’s doing to him. he thought._ _That’s his girlfriend_ , _after all._ And Alec probably just imagined seeing Magnus flinch.

Camille’s smile did not falter. Alec shuddered inwardly upon seeing that smile. And his resolve hardened again, as his eyes went back to Magnus. 

"Wait," Alec heard Jace mutter, "What the _eff_ is _she_ doing here? You mean to tell me they _allowed_ her back in?" 

It was at the tip of Alec's tongue to ask what Jace meant by that. 

But he quickly dismissed it. FOCUS _!_

With that, Alec narrowed his eyes. _The gloves were off._

Flashing Magnus a smug smile, he never took his eyes off Magnus as his hand grabbed the ball from the cup to the side -- where he knew it would be. 

He aimed,– and _threw._ _Plop!_ A perfect curve into the cup, to the right of Magnus.

The crowd cheered on Alec’s side. Alec was already aiming the second ball by that time, and this too went flying.

It nearly went into another cup, but then bounced out. There were slight groans, but mostly cheers that Alec had made one. 

Magnus raised his eyebrows, rolled his eyes, took the ball out and drank from the cup. 

“Lucky shot, Lightwood,” he muttered.

“Luck? Sure, whatever,” Alec retorted, rolling his eyes. “Anyway, it’s your move, _Bane_.”

Magnus hummed. “Well, someone’s ego is sure _big_ today – looks like we will have to cut that down real quick. You’re going to eat your words, Lightwood,” he said calmly. He made an exaggerated motion as he pointed toward a target. “ _Dead center shot_.”

Alec looked at him incredulously _. No, he was just saying that ---_

But Magnus threw – and it _hit_. Two rows in front of Alec, _dead center_. 

And then, he made a big show of measuring and pointing at the same cup, and simply said, _“AGAIN.”_

_WHAT, NO WAY –_

A anticipatory buzz started within the crowd --

_And…wouldn’t you know, it – same shot. TWO BALLS in the SAME CUP!_

Magnus’s fraternity brothers all whooped. “That’s why Bane’s won the competition two years in a row, son. Don’t you forget it!” a brother yelled from the crowd.

Alec’s mouth dropped open before he could control it. _Crap, that was admittedly pretty good._ _Dammit._

Alec’s reaction wasn’t lost upon Magnus, who _grinned_ ferallyjust then. 

“You need to be better at controlling your poker face, darling,” he drawled. “Yea, you _wish_ you could take two balls at the same time…”

_WHAT –_

Alec’s brain had just stopped working…even as he started to get vaguely irritated by that statement. 

His mouth formed a thin line, as he practically sneered back, “Right, you and your innuendos. The _only_ thing you’re good at, right?” Alec’s words were practically dripping with contempt.

“Alec.” Jace was suddenly next to him, and a hand had fallen upon his shoulder. Alec turned slightly, to face his brother.

There was a look in his eyes. “Yo, it’s just a game,” he said quietly. “Chill out.”

Alec just _stared_ at him. “What are you talking about?” he said, replying loudly. “Didn’t we train for this? We knew how he was going to be, right? I’m actually _enjoying_ this.” Turning away from Jace, he inadvertently caught the eye of Camille, who was smiling contently. Still looking at _him_ \--

_\-- Stop looking at me! –_

He took a deep breath, as his eyes moved to Magnus, who had not taken his eyes off of him since. 

“I think this game is going just fine. Wouldn’t you say so… _Bane_?”

He saw Magnus raise his eyebrows as he took a moment to assess him. “Yea,” Magnus said finally, in a slightly stilted tone. “It’s going – great. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Herondale.”

Jace looked from Alec, over to Magnus. 

And did it seem like they were exchanging a look between them? It looked that way to Alec. 

Flabbergasted, he could only stare at Jace – _hard._

_WHAT WAS GOING ON --?_

Jace turned back to Alec, with an unreadable expression upon his face. Alec was getting more irritated by the minute....

Finally Jace shook his head, raising up his hands as if in surrender. “Your competition, your thing. I’ve said my peace,” he said. However, he still had a concerned look upon his face.

Alec watched his brother walk back to his seat, his eyes widening. _What just happened???_

Jace was _HIS_ brother. _What was he doing_ – he actually seemed sympathetic to Magnus! Ugh, as if he should be. 

He was supposed to be on _his_ side -- _!_

Alec could feel the tension rising within him – it was getting to the point where he was having trouble pushing down his emotions. 

_And right, to be able to focus on this game, he had to mentally have the upper hand._

So, Alec willed down all his emotions, shook his head slightly…when he felt he was ready once again, he looked up.

And this time, all he saw in front of him – his mind not completely blank but at least everything pushed out of his immediate consciousness – was the table with filled beer cups, and Bane at the other end.

_THE ONE HE HAD TO BEAT._

Alec lifted his chin defiantly ,looking at Magnus straight in the eye, who looked back at him, with a confused look upon his face.

And then, the impassive expression with the flashing dark eyes came back.

Just two competitors staring off at one another.

Just then the announcer cleared his throat, and said, “Well, that was certainly unexpected, seeing this so early on. Anyway House Rules goes – either the brother takes a double shot, or takes a dare from the competing house. Following the beer, of course.”

Alec nodded curtly, as he reached for the cup with the two balls in it. Taking out the two balls, he dunked it in the water cup off to the side. Then he took the cup and tipped it back in one gulp. 

Tossing the cup to the side, he took a deep breath. _Now, for the second part --_

Alec knew all eyes were on him. _Which one would he choose --?_

It was a no-brainer. He was _NOT_ going to be entertainment for those guys. Turning to Jace, he gestured toward the cooler. 

“Give it to me,” he said acridly.

Jace took out a bottle of Everclear from the cooler. In the other hand he had a shot glass. “Alec, I can just give you a single shot. it’s not an issue, brother. This stuff is no joke,” he said quietly.

Ugh, Everclear, Alec thought in dismay. Of course they would have one with such high alcohol content.

Well, looked like either way – _even though he thought he had chosen the safer bet_ \- there was potential for him to end as the night’s entertainment after all.... 

One shot of Everclear, you got buzzed. Two shots of Everclear just might be that _tipping point…_

Well, too late now, Alec thought. 

“Nah, man,” he said flippantly. “Rules are rules. Give me the freaking double.”

Jace gave Alec a searching look. “Okay,” he said slowly. Alec watched as he poured the double shot into the glass, and then handed it over to Alec.

Alec took the glass and raised it to everyone, directing it mostly to Magnus. 

“Two in one,” he announced, as he downed it in one gulp. _Ack, it burned!_ But he didn’t complain, or make a face. And to his slight satisfaction, Magnus’s face had actually paled upon witnessing this.

Good, he thought.

“Okay, sorry for that silliness,” he announced. “The game’s back on.”

*****************

For the next half hour, both Magnus and Alec were locked in a dead heat, as the balls were thrown back and forth. And trading barbs every so often. 

Jace, currently next to Raj and Victor, assessed the game from where he sat.

He actually couldn’t stand the two frat brothers, as they were incredibly stuck up. And they didn’t understand the concept of sportsmanship. 

But, he had noticed something troubling – that whenever Raj and Victor started whooping at anything Alec did – Alec would turn around, give them both high fives, and accept the beers they held out to him. Then he would take a swig, and proceed to throw out some scathing insult toward Magnus. 

This was so uncharacteristic of Alec, the fact that he was being friendly -- _even superficially!_ \-- with Raj and Victor at this point, even accepting drinks from them, and getting more and more rowdy. 

Regardless, as his younger brother, and the one who had more experience with fraternity life -- he had a responsibility to look out for Alec. Especially since Alec had insisted on joining them before, drinking that heavily laced alcoholic mix. 

It wasn’t even anything that Alec would have normally taken. And Jace, who had had a few by that time, had a lapse of judgment and gave his brother one.

Jace, who was sober now, regretted it. He knew Alec got more affected by the alcohol that he did.

And then that _double_ shot of Everclear!

Hence why he was acting out the way he was now.

Truthfully, a small part of him wanted to snicker – because some of the lines that Alec was throwing out were actually quite good. The burn toward Magnus was ridiculous.

And of course, Magnus – ever skilled at delivering lines – just threw them right back.

But for the most part, Jace could see that it was getting incredibly heated, perhaps even beyond the typical rivalry/competition. 

Alec’s face was getting red, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. 

He knew his brother. Alec was getting – angry. At Magnus. 

Jace thought back to what he had seen over the past few weeks...

Alec and Magnus had actually seemed to get along, and were spending time together.

Jace – on some level – had started to _ship_ them together. 

However, he was always a bit skeptical of their ultimate compatibility, since Alec and Magnus were very different in terms of personality. 

But one thing Jace knew, though, was that despite this thing with being in rival fraternities, that Magnus was a good guy. Through and through. He was loyal, and would be there if you needed him.

Which was then, quite puzzling - given that in the past few weeks, it seemed like they both had a falling out. And he witnessed his older brother _nearly_ falling apart –

Until he figured out a way to cope. And it was not the most ideal way to do so.

_To go from sad and moping, to angry and vengeful ---_

That was just a trainwreck waiting to happen. 

And, unfortunately, Jace was almost certain that if tensions continued to rise like they were currently during this game, that things were going to go a bad way.

Especially since Alec was obviously more than buzzed now...

And with the way Alec was glaring at not only Magnus, but also a bit to the left to him --

Jace inhaled sharply, as he suddenly realized who was in their midst..

 _Camille Belcourt_. Magnus Bane’s ex-girlfriend.

 _But wait, what was she doing here?_ he thought incredulously. How did _he_ miss her sneaking into the party? Also, who would have invited her to the party? 

Even Magnus’s frat brothers knew how that had ended. Those that had formerly championed her, no longer did. Jace noticed that some Gamma Sigma Delta brothers were even eyeing her suspiciously, taking care not to sit or stand too close to her. 

And yet she stood there, right behind Magnus, grinning like the cat who ate the canary. _Or who was about to eat the canary._

For all that Jace knew, even though there was a lot of things he didn’t know about Magnus, the one thing he knew about him, was how Camille had affected him.

Because he was around when they were dating. _And he never liked that bitch._

She would always be really bossy, goading Magnus to do this and do that, even if he seemed unsure about things. Of course, she was also incredibly hot, so the fraternity brothers never said anything. They probably figured that Magnus should know how to handle himself. 

And so Jace saw Magnus became nearly a shell of himself in those two years he was with Camille, while also becoming one of the biggest partiers in the House.

And Camille – well she not only drank, but she did things. _Drugs_.

Jace would drink, _anything and everything_ – but substances he would never do. 

Now, Camille was always doing something whenever they met, and as far as Jace knew, Magnus had never partook in anything before he met her. 

_But then all of a sudden, one day, Jace came into a party one evening, for a friend of a friend. He wasn't that familiar with everyone, but there seemed to be a lot of fraternity brothers here from various fraternities on campus. Place was crowded..._

_And what did he find taking place, in the living room?_

_A whole crowd group surrounding what looked like a few people doing lines of white stuff (cocaine?) on the table._

_Lo and behold, who' was standing front and center next to them was Camille. And beside her, Magnus._

_Camille was grinning maniacally, apparently already ‘partying it up’ as she was yelling, then she bent down to take a line. Then another. As she stood up, she grinned at everyone, who cheered at her._

_Then that whole expression changed as her eyes focused upon Magnus, who actually seemed really hesitant…_

_Camille started goading and shaming Magnus -- her condescending laughter ringing out as she said, “Oh, Magnus, you are so weak. You don’t even know how to party correctly.”_

_And Jace saw something give in Magnus’s expression. Almost looking like defeat…._

_And then he tentatively took a step forward._

_Oh my god, Jace thought, eyes widening. He isn’t going to – is he…?_

_Either way, Jace was not going to take that chance._

_It took him less than a second to act._

_Jace stepped forward just then, making up some excuse to talk to Magnus. Magnus’s head whipped around quickly at the mention, obviously disoriented and in shock at Jace even being there._

_His dark eyes focused on him, the party temporarily forgotten at that moment, only giving him a slow blink and nod when Jace gently urged him around the corner._

_Once Jace had walked Magnus around the corner, and out of earshot of Camille, he looked Magnus in the eye, and said, “Bane, dude. What was that out there?”_

_Magnus shrugged indifferently._

_“What do you care? And besides, don’t all the cool kids do it?” he muttered, in a way that was so far removed from what Jace expected him to say. Or how he expected Bane to be._

_Where was the devil may care, confident, fraternity guy that he had met during pledge week?_

_Jace glared at him. Magnus appeared to cower, just then._

_“You seriously believe that, eh?” he demanded. “This is NOT the time to be stupid, okay. Or whipped. I know you love her and all, but she is ruining your life. That doesn’t get you popular. That just gets you sicker. Or addicted. Or even dead.”_

_Magnus tried to avert his eyes._

_Jace wouldn’t let him turn away. “Look at me, please,” he pleaded in a softer voice._

_Slowly, Magnus lifted his eyes to meet his. There was no fight left in them._

_They both stared at one another for a long time._

_Finally Magnus’s shoulders slumped, and he said in a defeated voice, “I can’t lose her. No one else will love me the way she does…”_

_Jace’s eyes widened. There was much more damage done than he’d realized. This was serious stuff.._

_“Bane,” he stated. “You know that’s not true. You had a fulfilling life before her. This isn’t all there is. You must see that, don’t you?”_

_No response._

_Jace tried again. “MAGNUS,” he stated firmly._

_That did it._

_Magnus’s head whipped up, giving him an astonished look._

_“You never called me by my first name, before,” Magnus said slowly._

_“Well, it got your attention didn’t it?” Jace said gently._

_Magnus said nothing._

_“You don’t need her, man,” Jace said, attempting once again to convince him._

_Magnus had a complicated expression upon his face. “I…I don’t know,” he admitted quietly._

_“You need to leave this party,” Jace stated firmly. “Just leave with me, now.”_

_Magnus winced. “Camille is going to get mad at me,” he said, and his voice trembled._

_`Oh god, Jace thought. This was really really bad…_

_“I’ll make up something to convince her you need to leave with me,” Jace stated. Magnus didn’t look convinced, his shoulders sagged, and he looked drained._

_“Okay,” he said, sounding defeated. He hugged his arms to his chest._

_Jace slung an arm around him. “It’s going to be okay,” he said._

_Magnus didn’t respond. He just looked down at the ground._

_And then in the softest voice, so soft that Jace almost didn’t hear it, he said, “God, I can’t believe I almost gave in. What have I become?”_

_He sighed heavily._

_Jace didn’t know to say. He just patted Magnus on the back for a bit, encouraging him to calm down. After awhile, his breaths seemed to slow and went back to normal._

_Then Jace had a thought. “Do you have anyone to call, or a place to go – if not with Camille?”_

_At that, Magnus’s eyes dimmed somewhat. “I have friends. But I don’t know if they will answer . I think I really ruined things with them...”_

_Magnus looked ready to cry._

_"Aw, I doubt that, " Jace stated, "True friends always want to be there for you. Trust me on that."_

_Magnus turned his eyes upon Jace with a searching gaze. He looked like he wanted to believe him so badly…_

_“Name?” Jace asked again, gently._

_“Catarina Loss and Ragnor Fell,” Magnus said._

_Then he shook his head, huffing slightly. “They will never let me live this down.” He gave Jace their numbers._

_Jace nodded. “Okay then,” he said. “Let’s get you away from Camille, and then we can focus on calling them.”_

_He started to turn to go back in the room, but then he felt a hand on his arm. He turned around. It was Magnus, who was gazing at him with a stronger look than before._

_“You’re not so bad, Herondale. Even if you are from our #1 rival fraternity,” he murmured._

_Jace grinned upon hearing Magnus’s words. “And I’m never going to let you forget you said that, Bane,” he quipped._

_Magnus's lips twisted into what could have passed as a hint of a genuine smile._

**************

Yea, something wasn’t right, Jace decided, as he came back to the present – suspiciously eyeing Camille behind Magnus. Once in awhile she would even dare step close to Magnus, and lean in to whisper something in his ear .

Even Magnus looked nauseated. But…he wasn’t telling her to go away…

Jace gritted his teeth, as his hands clenched into first at his sides..

 _Camille was not supposed to be here._

Not after everything _HE_ did, personally, to get Magnus out of that relationship. 

Almost no one knew about this, not even Alec. As far as Jace was concerned, there was no real reason to disclose this to Alec.

Well, maybe after this competition, there would be – if Jace could only figure out why Alec was glaring daggers at both Magnus AND Camille at the other end…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 9 to come


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to a head, with heated words exchanged...

Alec cursed loudly, as his shot missed, bouncing off one of the cups on Magnus’s side. 

Wow, he had not hit his last 4 turns. Magnus, however, had been more consistent in this game, hitting more than he was...

And by now, this was much more beer than Alec had expected to drink. Aside from being _drunk_ , his stomach was also starting to feel queasy...

It was now almost an hour, and they were tied 2 games apiece. This would be the deciding game. 

Unfortunately the fatigue was settling in…as was the spots in front of his eyes. He blinked twice, and they disappeared. _Thank goodness._

He caught Magnus smirking at him.

Then it was Magnus's turn, and...he proceeded to make the next one of two cups.

Alec groaned. _Again?_

 _“DRINK!”_ the crowd shouted. Ugh, Alec thought, as he picked off the cups, and drank the beer. 

“Hmm, if I didn’t know better, Pretty Boy, I’d say you were losing your touch,” Magnus said, smiling. 

Something about that smile irked him to no end. _So infuriating._ “ _NOPE,”_ he said between gritted teeth. “That was just a fluke.”

"Hmm, well alright," Magnus hummed. "If you say so..."

God, Alec wished he could take that smirk right off of his face. 

Well, if he were to start making his shots again, that would erase it, _alright_.

 _FOCUS!_ he thought. And so he concentrated. _And threw..._

He then proceeded to sink two in a row, with the cups being right in front of Magnus. Magnus blinked, in surprise.

And cheers erupted behind him. 

Then Alec made the next two cups, with Magnus missing his two...

And just like that, Alec was back in the game. 

Raj and Victor whooped, yet again. 

“ _GO LIGHTWOOD!”_ a buzzed Raj cheered. “Here we go, the beginning of the end. See, he’s got you, Bane! Alec's plan worked!”

" _SHHHHHHHHHHH!"_ That had suddenly come from Victor.

Alec internally froze upon hearing the commotion in back of him...

 _WAIT, WHAT...?_

He was buzzed beyond anything, but even he knew this moment had just turned incredibly…bad..

And across the table, he saw Magnus freeze, out of the corner of his eye.

“Uh,” Magnus’s voice said slowly, deceptively soft and unassuming, “Why do you say that, Raj?” he asked. 

_Was this the moment that they were going to confirm what Camille said the other day?_

_His heart dropped. Even if it was true, it didn’t mean he was ready to hear it. Or wanted to hear it. Again._

“That Lightwood got to know you only to see what your weaknesses are, so he could beat you at this game,” Raj said, without missing a beat. “And he surpassed all our expectations, _boy did he EVER_ – _with what we saw in front of the bar_. That’s the best shit we’ve ever seen – _OW!”_

Victor had nudged Raj in the ribs, halting his tirade. But the effort was too little too late.

Dead silence suddenly followed. There was an exchange of looks between everyone, bordering on nervous, as the environment suddenly became extremely awkward…

 _‘Oh, is THAT RIGHT,”_ Magnus said, a bit louder. Now his eyes were flashing once again

Magnus just stared across the table, at Alec, with a look of disbelief upon his face. Then Magnus chuckled, a sad low chuckle, shaking his head. 

“Damn, if that’s true, then well played, _ALEXANDER_.” His voice was cutting, and bitter. “You know, I heard about this, but I hadn’t wanted to believe it.” 

He huffed just yet, running his fingers through his hair.

“I’ll be the first to admit that I hadn’t taken you to be the type, but shit, _you win on all counts_. I really thought…” He trailed off. “You know. It doesn’t even matter. _In fact, nothing matters, anymore_.”

Magnus spat out the last five words, making Alec recoil inwardly.

He just stared at him.

 _WHAT WAS MAGNUS TALKING ABOUT?_ Something in Alec’s heart wanted to scream that to him. 

“You’re not making sense,”Alec sputtered instead. _“What –"_

Now his mind was spinning, and in his alcoholic haze, he was not able to think clearly. But then his gaze was redirected toward the motion of Camille putting her hand on his shoulder, as if to comfort Magnus --

_And his blood started to boil…_

“Well, yea – you’re one to talk. _Playing you_ , got _nothing_ on acting single when you were still going out with someone,” Alec retorted. “To go from kissing _ME_ – to kissing _HER_ at the Quad _. Yea, talk to me about honor._ Talk about the nastiest thing you can do to someone. _Shit.”_

The tone of Alec’s voice had become quite icy at the end, and as lethal as venom. In fact, Alec’s heart had completely cracked and he felt so empty inside. And the words he was saying were empty too, as they were doing nothing to soothe his wounded ego (?) heart(?)

He wouldn’t even be able to differentiate between the two right now. 

A few hours ago, a more mindful Alec would have kept all of this to himself. 

With the alcohol like fire in his system, and seeing Camille next to Magnus, however -- all his filters were _off._

_It was too late to take it all back._

There had been murmurs in the crowd going on during the last few plays. But now there was dead silence.

Magnus stared at Alec, coldly, and disbelieving. 

“Wow, Alec,” he stated slowly. “You are certainly something else. Firstly, I’m sorry that you witnessed that, it was certainly the worst luck that either of us could have had that day.”

He swallowed hard, and then continued onward. “Now I would understand if you had come to me and asked me, or even demanded an explanation for it, I would have been more than willing to explain and then ask for your understanding and/or forgiveness. But no, you decided to go _this_ route…”

“And, if you knew me at all, you would have known that I did not initiate that. I would _NEVER_ initiate that. And especially NOT from _Camille. NO FREAKIN WAY._ She took me by surprise, okay that part I can admit, but I pushed her away. Because I decided that I liked you enough for you to matter to me. Or at least I thought I was “with” you, or mattered to you in that sense. But in light of all of this that just went down, if you are really going to go ahead and accuse me of being a player, when I am anything _but_ – well, we really have nothing further to say to each other.” 

He picked up the ball out of one of the cups, and angrily threw it off to the side. 

“Anyway, I’ve had enough. You want the trophy so bad, well, you’ve got it. You have my deepest congratulations,” he growled.

Turning to his fraternity brothers, he shook his head, and said in a quiet voice, “Sorry, guys. I just couldn’t keep it going, this time. I’m done.”

And with that, Magnus turned on his heel and started to walk away.

Alec, frozen, just watched him slowly leave. He flinched when he saw Camille approach him, about to touch his arm. 

Magnus however, flinched as IF she had already touched him, whirling and flinging her arm AWAY from him as if it was acid -- causing a bewildered Camille to stare at him, wide-eyed.

 _“OH, THIS IS JUST ABOUT ENOUGH!”_ Magnus practically exploded. “Why are you even here today? God knows, I don’t want you anywhere _near_ me, especially with how we ended,” he heard Magnus growl again.

Magnus stomped away and soon disappeared inside the house.

Alec felt the blood drain from his face, and hence the alcohol in his system upon witnessing all of this. Somehow he was sobering… _fast_. 

He just stared in the direction of where Magnus had gone. Was Magnus telling the truth then? The sickening realization of what the truth might be – _it hit him in the gut just then…_

_OH NO_

_OHHH SHITTT --_

Suddenly there was an arm slung around his shoulders. Alec tensed up, as he got this sickening feeling at the pit of his stomach. He looked up. Sure enough, it was Raj, grinning at him. 

“Well, “ Raj drawled, “Not the way I expected our House to win the trophy. But a win is a win! Good looks, Lightwood!”

Alec could only smile weakly as he was being jostled by the hug. Even though he now felt like dying inside.

“Yo.” Jace was suddenly in front of the two of them. 

Alec blinked.

Jace’s gaze was hard. “Alec,” he said, “I need a few words with Raj, right about now. Why don’t you go inside and chill for a bit. I’m sure you can do without additional drama…”

 _I’m giving you an “out”,_ Jace’s eyes seemed to say, as they held an empathetic expression within them. There was also a suggestive look within them, highly suggesting that Raj was about to _get it…_

There was some pressure in the back of Alec’s eyes right now. He felt…so grateful to Jace for intervening. 

_Man, he owed his brother big time…_

Alec met Jace’s gaze. “Uh, yea, Jace. T-That sounds good,” he stuttered, trying to keep his voice even.

“Excuse me,” he said, finally moving. He quickly strode into the house, on the half-hope that Magnus would still be inside. 

But of course he wasn’t.

Alec’s heart gave out, as he collapsed into the nearest chair.

Luckily everyone was still outdoors, and no one would bear witness to his heartbreak…

………………

“What is this all about, Herondale?” Raj asked, staring at Jace. “I’m not allowed to congratulate your brother? We were _having_ a moment…”

“Eff that,” Jace said in a stilted tone of voice. Raj’s eyes widened. 

“Tell me,” Jace said evenly. “Where did you get the idea about Alec plotting to use Magnus to win the trophy? And I’m not letting you off the hook until you tell me…”

Raj paled.

*****

_Two days later_

“What do you want for dinner, Alec? I’m about to get pizza, you want in?” Jace asked, the phone in his hand.

Alec was sitting in the chair by his desk, with his back to him.

“Get whatever, I don’t care . I’m not even hungry,” he murmured, in a voice that was nearly inaudible. Sighing, he popped in his earbuds, and flicked on his mp3 player.

Jace stared at the still figure with the sagging shoulders that was his brother. 

He’d been that way for two days now. Didn’t go to class, didn’t want to talk. Was either just lying in bed, or just sitting in the room staring at whatever. Not speaking with anyone.

Ugh, enough is enough, Jace thought. 

He’d already found out about Camille’s hand in all of this, through Raj. 

And Jace kicked himself mentally for not doing what he should have done two days earlier. It had been busy as he had to do things for a group project, so he had been running around and studying.

 _But still_ …

He walked over to Alec, putting a hand on his shoulder, making Alec look up at him curiously. “Yes, Jace?” he asked, taking out an earbud so he could hear what Jace was saying.

The wounded look in Alec’s eyes made Jace nearly flinch. 

Oh, this was really bad, he thought.

“I got something to do,” Jace said finally. “Are you sure you don’t want anything tonight? Maybe not the pizza, but you need to eat, Alec. If you want, I can pick up something from the deli on campus. Like a sandwich or something?”

Alec appeared to contemplate this for a few minutes, and then nodded slowly. Even the very motion seemed exhausting to him.

“Yea, Jace,” he said softly, as if resigned, “That sounds good. Thanks.”

“As always,” Jace said. “I’ll be back in a bit.” Alec, nodding, had already turned back, earbuds back in ears.

Jace set his jaw resolutely, as he started to walk out of the room. Once in the hallway, he took out his phone, and dialed a number.

“Hello, Magnus? Jace, here. Are you free? I need to talk to you,” he said quickly.

“Huh?” Magnus’s voice registered surprise, and then amusement. “OH. HEY. Hmmm, I didn’t think we were on a first name basis, dude…”

His voice sounded cheerful, yet a bit wan.

“I wanted to talk to you about Alec,” Jace said. 

There was silence on the phone, and then Magnus spoke up.

“Uh, no. How about let’s _NOT_ talk about Alec,” he said, his voice all clipped. “Your brother made it clear what he thinks about me. I actually have a lot of assignments to look over for Monday from students. I don’t need my focus all messed up –"

 _Hmm, this wasn’t good_ , Jace thought. _Damn he must really be mad. Or really hurt. Or both…_

Jace crossed his fingers behind his back, as he contemplated his next move.

He was really about to annoy someone right about now ---

Hurriedly, Jace spoke, his words rushing out in one breath, “Consider this a favor due from the last time. I did pull you out of a jam, right? After this, we are _golden_. I swear. Let’s meet up. And hear me out, okay? _You owe me._ ”

On the other line, he heard Magnus inhale sharply. 

“Wait, I _owe_ you? Seriously?” Magnus asked incredulously. “Well, ugh, I _do_ owe you. But…are you seriously cashing it in NOW?!. _And for this??_ _This? C’mon man._ I’d reconsider if I were you...” 

“Nope,” Jace stated, now sounding gleeful, even more confident that he was making the right decision. “I’ve decided this is how you are going to return the favor. You know you can’t say no. Not for what I did for you”

Jace bit his lip, grinning widely. 

He had heard that note of exasperation in Magnus’s voice. He knew that Magnus could not say no to this. He felt bad that he was exercising this advantage over him but he was out of options. 

There was silence on the other end for awhile, and then Jace heard a nearly inaudible huff and a big sigh, before Magnus’s voice came back on. “Well, you’re certainly got me there. Well, alright, _Heron_ —I mean _, Jace_ ,” Magnus said slowly. _“_ Sure. Meet me in the Quad, just outside of the library, in 15. All I’m saying yes to, is the meeting up. No guarantees on _anything_ else.”

Jace sighed inwardly _. Whew…_

“Deal,” he agreed. “Thank you, Magnus,”

He heard Magnus sigh again, and then the dial tone came on. 

_Shit, Alec, you have no idea what I’m walking into_ , he thought. _You better be appreciative._

As for Jace, he wasn’t even sure if this would even work. 

_But he had to try._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CH 10 to come


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec POV the morning following the competition, Magnus POV.
> 
> And what happens as certain things are revealed...

_(Two days earlier/the morning after the competition)_

_ALEC POV_

_Alec was having the worst headache imaginable -- he felt like his head was splitting in two._

A result of too much alcohol consumption during the game earlier...

He idly reached over to his desk and clicked on the display. His eyes fell immediately upon this text on his phone. 

" _Hey, are we okay? I haven’t heard from you…”_

The last message from Magnus from the week before -- one of a few that he never responded back to. 

And he groaned, yet again. 

_Waves of regret started washing over him in droves..._

He couldn’t stop staring at this message, as painful memories from the game flooded through his head. 

Eventually he put the phone back on the table, facedown. 

Then he shifted his body about, bringing the covers of the bed more tightly around him, and let out a long sigh.

The game itself almost seemed like a _nightmare, a trainwreck that just unfolded in front of him, with words coming out of his mouth faster than he could stop it ---_

And in such a _public_ way....

_Alec was mortified._

Now everyone probably thought he was the biggest loser ever.

But, somehow, he didn’t care about any of the others. The only one that did matter, whose opinion and feelings did matter, was…Magnus.

And he probably all but pushed him away, for good, especially after everything that he had said, after he had gotten too drunk, and those assumptions had taken root. And that combination caused emotions to erupt and for him to overreact. 

The hurt expression on Magnus’s face was something currently imprinted on his brain, leaving a huge weight upon his heart. 

He didn’t even know if there was a way back from this. It was inexcusable, completely inexcusable what he did. And he should not have jumped to conclusions, or made assumptions without talking to Magnus first –

But…things happened as they did.

He sighed heavily yet again.

The door creaked open just then. 

“Hey.” It was Jace, who had a glass of water and some Tylenol in his hand. “I see you’re awake.”

"Barely,” Alec muttered.

Jace came over to sit on the edge of his bed gingerly, as he placed the items on the table next to his phone. “You may want to take these a bit later, I’m sure you are already feeling the effects of everything you did during the competition…”

“Don’t I know it. God, I messed up so bad,” Alec stated, looking down.

“Yea, well, I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you. It was pretty bad,” Jace stated. Alec winced at the bluntness. But he was completely right. He had nothing to say in his own defense…

“So…what are you going to do now?” Jace suddenly asked.

“…I really don’t know,. It's kinda hard to think right now” Alec admitted, feeling miserable. But then again, what could he do? He was absolutely sure there was nothing he could do that would make a difference, anyway. His shoulders sagged.

Jace’s eyes were still on him. 

“You’re still hungover right now, so I’m not going to say anything. But hopefully when you feel better, you’ll regain some common sense and know the right thing to do. That’s all I’m going to say for now. Alright? I’ll leave you to rest up some more…”

Alec nodded. “Alright,” he asked. “Thanks, Jace.”

Jace nodded, and left the room.

Alec continued to sit there, his mind reeling. His eyes flitted to the phone that was face down on the table. Impulsively, his hand reached for it, and clicked on the display.

Again he stared at that last message Magnus had written.

His fingers had already clicked open _“New Message”_ and he began to write. 

……………….

_Same day_

Magnus heard the ping from his phone. Curious, he got up from where he was sitting, and went over to take a look.

_Alec._

He did an about face, going back to his seat on the couch and sitting down, now idly flipping through channels with his remote as he tried to forget he saw that notification on his phone at all.

_Right, no thanks._

_Somehow he couldn’t get those words he had said out of his head. And then for Raj to confirm what Camille had said about Alec’s motives to_ begin with. It was pretty much unforgivable at this point.

Half an hour went by. _Okay, this was NOT working._

Standing up, he walked determinedly to his closet, where he took out his coat and shrugged it on. He was going to go out. And forget about that message.

He walked out the door, locking it behind him.

His phone remained where it was, the message unread.

…………….

Magnus unlocked the door of his apartment, after a nice dinner meetup with Ragnor and Catarina. He stumbled in. Okay, admittedly he was also slightly tipsy from all the wine he had. Anyway, he was feeling pretty good. But tired. 

_Time to unwind…_

He fell back into his favorite comfy chair. His eyes fell upon his phone, which was lying face down on the table, a red notification light blinking.

Message, his brain thought, and his arm shot out to get the phone. Without looking at who it was from, he clicked on the message.

_Hi, it’s me. I don’t even know if you are even going to read this –_

_WAIT –_

Now, his eyes focused on who the message was from. It was from Alec.

Ugh, seriously? And Magnus had been having a good day prior to this. Or at least he was trying to have a good day. Well, he was NOT going to read this message.

Magnus shut the phone off and tossed it to the side, now feeling annoyed. 

_Just great…_

_…………………._

_Later that same day_

_Message Read-_ Read-receipt.

Magnus had read his messages…

Alec, now sitting by his desk, just stared at the phone in his hand. Right now he was having a serious love-hate relationship with the functions of his phone.

So, these were great when you knew the person read your message. But it was a huge slap in the face if the person read the message, and no reply or call had occurred in kind.

He kept looking at the notification for awhile, feeling a pressure coming on in the back of his eyes. Yes, he was still a bit hungover from yesterday evening. However, now this had nothing to do with the beer and liquor.

His lip started twitching, and he involuntarily blinked, twice.

_Guess, that’s that, huh. Oh…well._

Alec sighed, as he took out his mp3 player, and fitted the earbuds into his ears. His thoughts started drifting as one of his favorite songs came on. Then he let his whole body sag as he slumped in the chair, despondent and feeling something that he couldn’t put a name to.

***********

_Present time (two days later), late afternoon_

Standing outside of the library, Magnus was half-regretting having talking to Jace over the phone.

And _really_ regretting his decision to meet Jace Herondale to hear him out. 

He should have really been more firm with his decision. After all, he had let Camille walk all over him for two years. He was NOT going to consciously walk into that situation again. 

_Not even for someone as good looking as Alec Lightwood._

_Or as funny…_

_Or as sweet and quirky…_

_Oh my god, stop it Magnus, why are you always such an easy target –_

And, ugh if that incessant message on his phone from Alec wasn’t stuck in the back of his head, his brain begging him to read it.

_\--NO!_

And yet…

_Well, Jace was coming right? To talk about Alec. Yes like that was going to change things..._

_Hmm, so there was really no harm in reading it NOW right?_

Nothing was going to change his mind anyway, unless it was extenuating circumstances, right?

Magnus sighed. 

_HE WAS GOING TO READ IT, WASN’T HE –_

_YOU ARE A FOOL, BANE –_

Sighing, he pushed the voices to the back of his mind, and opened up his phone, while mentally cursing himself for being so weak on doing so.

And then his eyes scanned the message…

 _…Camille…convenience store…saying her boyfriend –_ _(HUH?)_ – _was getting one over his competition by pretending to get close to him…_

_WAIT. WHAT!!!!—_

“Oh, fucking hell,” Magnus cursed. 

_OH HE WAS PISSED….! UGH..._

And then his heart sank, his eyes widening as he realized --

_OH NO. OH GOD…_

“…Uh, Magnus?” Jace was suddenly in front of him, an anxious look in his eyes. He ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous type of gesture. “I’m glad you agreed to meet up. I really need to talk to you, there's something you need to know --” 

Magnus suddenly found it hard to speak, a lump had formed in his throat and there was a tightness he couldn’t describe…

The expression on Jace’s face slowly changed as he continued to look at Magnus.

“Magnus,” he said. “Are you okay? You seem a bit…off. I mean, as compared with our phone call from before...”

“Uh, actually, I’m glad you suggested this. I think I need to talk to you, too,” Magnus said slowly. 

_******************_

_Five to six days later -- weekend_

Alec walked into the bar by the West side of campus, deeply contemplative. Reaching the counter, he saw the bartender Maia. He waved at her, gesturing for her to bring him his regular.

She saluted him heartily, and passed him one. He did a small salute back at her. Then he lifted the pilster to his lips and drank.

Suddenly he froze, as the song came on the jukebox. It was a song that had been playing, the last time he was the bar with Magnus: _“You Look So Fine”_ by the band _GARBAGE:_

~

  
_You look so fine_

_I want to break your heart_

_And give you miiine_

_You're taking me over_ _  
_

_  
It's so insane  
You've got me tethered and chained  
I hear your name  
And I'm falling over  
  
I'm not like all the other boys  
I can't take it like the other boys  
I won't share it like the other boys  
That you used to know_

_You look so fine  
_

_Knocked down_

_Cried out_

 _Been down just to find out_ _  
_

_I'm through_

_Bleeding for you_

_I'm open wide  
I want to take you home  
We'll waste some time  
You're the only one for me_

~

Somehow, each melancholy line struck his heart like sharp bits of barb wire, as it slowly wrapped around some insanely sensitive part within himself. 

He winced.

Right, when it was just the two of them, no pretenses, no reputations to uphold in the face of others. 

_It had been just the two of them, together…_

Alec found himself playing over the events from last few weeks in his mind –

From the first day he met Magnus -- 

The supposedly insufferable flirt, then overachieving teacher’s assistant in English class, to the guy who could bellow out insults like the next guy, then the guy who almost had him convinced that he could be a confidant, and maybe even more --

Then to back to the insufferable flirt who kept trying to distract him during the beer pong competition.

And then, Alec had thrown everything to the wind – _no holds barred_ – and won. By default.

An empty victory at best. 

He actually didn’t think it would count. But the other fraternity said that Magnus deemed that it stand. He was not going to challenge him again for it.

He sighed deeply, as he took another swig of his beer.

_As usual – he was alone. Again._

_Well, maybe it was just meant to be that way for him. He just couldn’t seem to do anything right ---_

“Anyone using this chair?” a voice suddenly asked in a polite time of voice. 

Alec swiveled on his bar stool to face the person. _“Nope, you can totally have it –"_

The rest of the sentence died on his lips. 

It was Magnus, who was standing in front of him, with an unreadable expression upon his face. Dressed professionally – _had he been teaching today?_ Alec couldn’t recall –

And, he was wearing his _spectacles._

_OH GOD --_

Alec’s mouth had gone dry. He hadn’t expected to run into him so soon. 

_MAGNUS LOOKED SO GOOD. AND EVERYTHING HE WANTED._

_AND YET –_

His mind scrambled, as his heart broke a little. Despite that, he attempted to formulate words to speak -- 

“Uh, n-no one’s sitting here. You can take away the chair if you want,” he said quietly.

He pasted a smile on his face, before quickly turning away, a lump forming in his throat. Pressure quickly built up behind his eyes.

He shuddered, praying that this moment would come and go quickly.

Once Magnus took the chair and left, he could continue to brood, and slowly fall apart. Where he could then dwell upon how much he had lost…

He sat there for the next few minutes, expecting to hear the scraping sound of the chair being moved away. 

But…it never came about.

Puzzled, Alec turned back to where Magnus had been standing. 

_Or rather, where he still was -- standing there._ Magnus hadn’t moved one inch. 

His eyes bored intensely into Alec’s. 

“I meant, if I could sit down next to you,” he said quietly.

Alec could feel his cheeks turn pink. 

_“OH._ Ah, sure,” he managed to croak out.

“Okay,” Magnus said, nodding, as he sat down. There was a silence between them.

“Another beer?” Magnus asked finally. “

Alec turned to look at him. Then he nodded, not able to find his voice at the moment. 

“Hey, Maia!” Magnus called out, signaling the bartender . He pointed down at Alec’s beer and signaled to her that he wanted two. Maia nodded, smiling.

Soon there were two beers in Magnus’s hands. He passed one over to Alec.

“T-Thanks,” Alec said finally, and then felt silent once again. He suddenly felt shy and didn’t know what to say.

“No problem,” Magnus said lightly. “I figure I should buy the winner of the competition a drink, right?”

Alec took a deep breath, as he chuckled, partly out of nervousness.

He ran his hands through his hair. 

“Listen, Magnus…” he started, faltering slightly as he gazed at the face that had become so familiar to him in these past few weeks.

“I hate trash talking,” he admitted. “I’m totally not that type at all.” 

He turned to face Magnus, whose gaze had remained intense, his brown eyes with gold glints focused directly on him.

“I’m not even really the frat type, either,” he confessed.

“Well I figured out that much, in the past few weeks,” Magnus stated with a short laugh. He looked away, as he held his beer between his hands.

“Anyway these competitions can get real crazy huh. It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment, eh?” he said, looking straight ahead, as he took a swig of his beer. “It was so easy to toss words back and forth between those jackoffs last year – Raj and Victor. They were so full of themselves, and condescending. You just wanted to take them down a few pegs…”

“But I guess, when it comes to friends, sometimes the lines blur, and suddenly it’s not so easy. Or even remotely as funny. But then you get caught up in the moment, and then sometimes you might even say things you don’t mean.”

Alec gazed at Magnus for a moment, before turning straight ahead, and taking a swig of his own beer.

“Yeah, totally,” he said, somewhat awkwardly.

_Ugh, he was so not good with words…_

The words “I’m sorry” were on the tip of his tongue, but suddenly his mouth was dry, and no words came out. 

A long silence followed, lingering in the air between them. 

Alec took a furtive glance at Magnus from out of the corner of his eye, and saw the expression on Magnus’s face shift from familiarity toward the impassiveness he’d seen before, in the company of acquaintances. 

Alec suddenly felt like the distance between them was much too vast. 

Especially for the amount of time they had spent together in the past two months. 

It couldn’t end like this. 

So awkward. So much like strangers. _This was much too awkward._

_When he wanted the complete opposite..._

No, it was _not_ going to end like this, Alec decided suddenly. 

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Listen, Magnus… you know I didn’t do what they said I did, right? I really need for you to believe me on that,” Alec blurted out. 

Magnus’s eyes were intent upon his – his gaze direct, yet open _. Go on,_ it seemed to say.

_Okay, then…_

Alec took a deep breath…and then the words just rushed out all at once.

“You know, the past couple of weeks and all – that was the real me. And what happened that night, when we hung out at the bar, that was all real _. All me_. And I’d like to think that the person I got to know over these past few weeks – well that was the real you. No matter what that nasty girl had to say – Camille, was it – had to say about you , about your past. Or whatever you felt like you needed to do to do. I don’t care about the past. All I care about is the person I got to know. Because… _that_ person…now that was someone whom I really wanted to get to know better…”

And once he finished, Alec shuddered, as if out of breath. 

But still he remained firm, waiting to see how Magnus would react to that.

Magnus didn’t react, at first. But his whole posture appeared to sag slightly, and he seemed more visibly relaxed as the words registered. 

He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed upon his. “Jace came to see me the other day. We talked a bit,” Magnus admitted.

Alec looked at him in surprise. “He did?” he asked. “I didn’t know you guys were close. He never mentioned anything…”

“Only because I swore him to secrecy. But he did something incredibly important for me at a pivotal time, awhile back. I will never forget it,” he said. Momentarily, it appeared that Magnus became immersed in his thoughts, perhaps recollecting that earlier time he was referencing. Then he looked up at Alec, his eyes bright. “Well, anyway, Jace really argued on your behalf. It was quite convincing. Not to mention I finally read your message, in its entirety.”

Slowly Alec could see the twinkle in his eye appear – something that had become so dear to him.

“Not that I didn’t enjoy your attempt at an apology just now. Anyway, you’re probably said those things, because you want to make out again,” Magnus said, with a hint of teasing. “I mean, we both knew you liked what we were doing. _A lot_.”

Alec knew his cheeks were now full-on technicolor. “Did not,” he protested weakly. 

He knew he was far from being convincing.

Magnus was now looking at him from under lowered lashes. 

“Are you sure about that?” he said with a lilt in his voice. It was teasing, and it sent shivers up Alec’s spine. “Because you know, I find that hard to believe. The sounds you were making, especially when my lips were nuzzling your neck, I find it hard to believe how anyone could fake _those_ …”

“ _MAGNUS_ ,” Alec hissed, his hazel eyes wide as saucers. He gestured at Magnus to lower his voice. 

“ _So_ ….” Magnus practically purred, “Are you saying that if I kissed you now, you would push me away?”

He had leaned all the way over, and was now close to Alec, surveying him intensely.

Alec’s heart stopped, as emotions swirled wildly within him, making it hard for him to formulate a thought. 

“Uh,” he heard himself say, huskily, “Well, I’m not sure. I guess someone will just have to try and see, eh?”

_Wow, he had never flirted before – like that, anyway._

Firming his resolve, he turned to face Magnus at that moment, and their gazes locked. 

Magnus’s eyes had gone all wide upon Alec’s words. But now they just turned so incredibly soft, along with a big smile on his face.

Alec had gone all breathless, upon witnessing that smile and that look in his eyes. He wanted to see it all the time –

He realized that Magnus was steadily leaning in toward him, so close that he could smell the sandalwood cologne he was wearing. 

Then Magnus paused slightly, his hand reaching up toward his spectacles, as if to remove them.

"Don't," Alec said suddenly. And his eyes widened. _Oh my god, what did he just say?_

Magnus's beautiful brown eyes widened as he stared at Alec. "What?" he asked, sounding surprised. 

And _then_ , an imperceptible smirk crept upon his lips. 

"Waaaait," he said, his voice lowering to a delightful purr. "Are you saying...you _like_ these?"

Alec's cheeks felt like they were on fire right now . "Uhhhh," he said. He was at a loss for words. _The way Magnus was looking at him now, and the rumbly way his voice was going..._

" _Well,_ " Magnus murmured in that amazing tone of voice, "I wouldn't want to keep you waiting too much longer then..."

Shivers went down Alec's spine, as Magnus's face drew closer to his. He let his eyes fall closed as their lips met, caressingly soft and playfully nipping at one another. Then their tongues licked into each other’s mouths, sliding warmly against one another. 

Burst of warmth and desire flooded Alec’s veins. 

He felt Magnus take his hand, lacing their fingers together, and he rubbed his thumb in slow circles within his inner palms. 

Every touch was like fire, making Alec’s breath hitch.

Eventually they parted, both slightly out of breath, as they looked at each other, unable to stop smiling.

“It’s about time you two guys figured it out,” a too familiar voice said, startling them both. 

It was Jace, grinning, as he raked an eyebrow.

“That was real uncomfortable at the competition, with the two of you,” Jace stated. “Not sure if you guys were feeling the tension, but the rest of the room could. It was like you guys were either going to start beating the daylights out of one another, or maybe something even worse, _who knew_... Thin line between love and hate, as they say…”

Alec flushed deeply, as Magnus threw his head back and laughed. 

“Also,” Jace continued, “Camille and those idiots sure didn’t help things either. I swear, I’m going to make sure that troublemaker isn’t allowed within ten feet of this House going forward. No worries, they won’t be foiling whatever is happening here between you two. ”

Alec caught Magnus’s eye, who shrugged sheepishly, and Alec shook his head as he started to laugh also.

“It is what it is,” he said, shrugging, as he looked at Magnus. Magnus threw him a flirtatious wink and a smile.

Jace smiled in satisfaction. “You two look cute together, you know,” he said. 

Alec blushed yet again.

“Anyway, I need to get back to the house. You two enjoy yourselves. But not too late okay?” Jace said.

“What? You’re giving us a curfew?” Alec asked in mock indignation. “Uh, no, no, and no. You’re younger. I should be telling you what to do.”

Jace raked an eyebrow and looked at Magnus. “My my,” he said, chortling. “Is this how you’ve influenced my big brother, big man on campus?” 

Magnus could only shrug, helplessly, as he found himself caught out of his element at the moment.

“Well, I like it,” Jace declared. And Magnus took a deep breath, feeling relieved. His eyes met Alec’s, who had a shit-eating grin upon his face. 

“Uhh, guys, I’m still here,” Jace said, waving his hands between them both. “But now I’m leaving.”

He started to walk away. But he stopped next to Magnus. Magnus turned to him with a questioning look.

“If you do anything to hurt him –” Jace said in a low tone of voice, but again he was smiling..

“You know me better than that, dude,” Magnus said with feeling. Jace looked at him for a moment, with a serious expression in his eyes. They appeared to share a moment.

“Yea, I _do_ ,” Jace said, nodding. “We’re good.” 

They high-fived one another, big grins on both of their faces. Then Jace walked out of the bar.

Alec watched Jace’s retreating back, shaking his head in disbelief, as he walked out. Then he turned back to Magnus, whose eyes were shining.

“So what now?” Alec asked curiously.

“Now,” Magnus stated seriously, taking his hand once again. “You allow me to take you out on a real date.”

Alec’s cheeks grew warm. “I like the sound of that,” he said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 11 to come, Epilogue!


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moments with Magnus and Alec, up to a year later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this epilogue was okay. I wasn't too sure about it but I did my best.
> 
> Thank you to Teal the Baker for helping with ideas for the Epilogue!

_Two weeks later_

_Rrrring!_ Went the doorbell.

Odd, Jace thought. Who used the doorbell for the frat house? Usually people already messaged or called ahead of time, so there was almost never any use for the doorbell.

However his interest was piqued. He went to the door and opened it.

Standing in front of him, wearing a black leather jacket, dark red button-down shirt, black jeans and black sneakers-- was Magnus. A pair of mirrored shares sat amidst spiky hair, highlighted with dark blue.

And he was wearing...spectacles? While off the job?

Hmm this was new, Jace thought.

"Herondale," Magnus said, with a big warm smile upon his face.

At that, Jace's smile widened. "Oh c'mon," he said good naturedly. "After everything that we've been through, I think we've gone beyond that, haven't we? "

Magnus grinned sheepishly.

"Oh right. Old habits die hard... _JACE_ ," he said, correcting himself. "Anyway, I'm here to pick up Alexander..."

"Oh, ARE you," Jace stated, grinning. "I knew there was a reason why Alec was spending all that time in the bathroom before.. fussing about what to wear, etc. Even whining, which I thought was kinda funny. But don't tell him that I said that, okay? Anyway, normally he couldn't give a crap about what to wear -- and I guess now you've got him emptying out his _whole_ closet..."

He peered at Magnus closely just then, deciding he would ask about the spectacles. "Hmm, new look?" he asked curiously. "I mean, you look great either way, but I don't think I've ever seen you wear them outside of teaching --"

" Magnus, is my little brother giving you the third degree?" Both Jace and Magnus turned, to see Alec coming down the stairs. He was dressed in a navy blue blazer with white button down, the collar open, along with slim dark wash jeans and black sneakers.

A big smile came upon Alec's face when he saw Magnus.

"You look great," he said softly. "And you wore them... " He gestured at Magnus's face. 

"Well you like them right? " Magnus said softly. "Of course I'm going to..."

Alec felt his cheek flame up upon Magnus saying that. 

Jace’s gaze flitted from Alec to Magnus. "Oh my God," he said, as he started cracking up. " You don't mean to tell me..."

He gestured toward the spectacles and then at Alec.

"Oh my god, more dirt on Alec!" he said gleefully, which earned him a glare from Alec. And a punch to the arm. 

At that, Magnus threw back his head and laughed heartily.

"Hey!" Jace protested, rubbing so the spot where Alec had punched him. He held up his hands in defeat. “Alright, alright kids, I’ll leave you guys to it. Anyway, I’ve got my own thing to get ready for myself. Have fun tonight.” He grinned, his eyes twinkling, as he went to run up the stairs, 2 at a time.

Magnus and Alec both watched Jace leave. “Someone’s excited for something,” Magnus mused.

Alec grinned. “Yea, he met someone,” he said. “But he’s been really evasive about it all week. But I’m glad though. He deserves to be happy…”

Magnus grinned. “I couldn’t agree more,” he said.

“So, what are we doing again, tonight?” Alec asked.

"So I thought we could do a movie and then dinner," Magnus asked. " I know a great Italian spot a few blocks away from campus, on the edge of downtown. Also, what do you think about psychological horror films? There's a revival cinema a few blocks off campus that plays older movies. And they are playing one that I have wanted to see for awhile. They have others though, if that’s not up to your taste --"

" I don't mind it," Alec said quickly," I haven't watched a lot of that genre, but I’m up for something different. I'm sure it can't be worse than regular horror movies right?"

_....……………_

Turns out, Alec was completely wrong.

Psychological horror films on many levels were worse than regular horror films. At least with regular horror movies you know if certain things were fake. The psychological ones, they somehow seemed to know how to dig deep into the psyche and play upon certain fears or trigger other factors. He'd started looking away from the screen, so it wouldn't hit so hard...

"Hey, is everything alright?" Magnus's musical voice suddenly whispered in the darkness. Alec involuntarily jumped at that. And then he relaxed _. It was only MAGNUS_ …

And then, a warm hand laced their fingers together, and he felt himself relax even further…

"I'm okay," Alec whispered, turning to look at him. The light from the screen illuminated Magnus's caring brown eyes behind his spectacles. Just seeing that made Alec's breath hitch.

"The movie – it’s just a little bit scary. No, check that. It’s more disturbing than anything else," he admitted. "But a kiss would help to reassure me... "

No sooner were the words out his mouth -- partly only said as a tease -- and Magnus leaned in to brush his lips with his.

"Feel better?" he whispered. 

In response, Alec pulled Magnus into a deeper kiss.

"Hmm never thought movies could be _this_ fun. You're certainly changing my mind about that... " Magnus murmured when they both pulled away for air. "Is it really that bad?"

Alec hummed. "It's okay," he said. " Maybe I just wanted an excuse to kiss you."

Magnus chuckled. " I'm all for that," he said.

"Good thing there’s not that many people in this theatre, or around us," Alec murmured, as he leaned in again for another kiss. About 10 minutes later… _or was it 20? 30? He lost track_ ….

Anyway they were both snuggled against one another, watching the movie, feeling all blissful.

Going forward, if one were to ask him what the movie was about, Alec wouldn’t even be able to begin to answer that question.

And all he remembered from dinner afterwards was how Magnus kept swirling his tongue around his pasta as he ate it – and how Magnus kept trying to feed him the chocolate covered strawberries off his dessert…

But he did recall Magnus walking him back to the fraternity house, and feeling so incredibly warm and secure, their fingers laced together, tingling, and how sweet, _weak-in-the-knees-caliber_ the kiss at the door was – 

Finally, a kiss that signified something that had potential – the potential to _grow into more._

_And perhaps --just perhaps -- that’s when Alec first fell a little bit in love with Magnus._

_………………….._

_3 months later_

“Ugh, what do we have here? PDA? That is soo eww,” a catty sounding voice called out.

Alec and Magnus both froze in mid-kiss from where they were sitting on the bench at the Quad. They were a pretty well-established couple by now, so to be accosted like this was a bit unexpected. However, they both knew that voice all too well, as they didn’t even bother turning toward the person who addressed them.

Ugh, Alec thought. _Camille._

Alec saw Magnus’s body shake slightly . He obviously couldn’t stand the sight of her . And even more so, given what had happened…

_Well, looked like he needed to take out the trash.._

He was not going to have Magnus be subjected to her whims or her callous words, if anything. _Not that Magnus wanted to either, of course…_

Alec slowly turned to face Camille, rolling his eyes in sardonic fashion.

“ _WHAT_ are _YOU_ doing here?” Alec asked dryly. “And here I thought we had found a spot with peace and quiet, and free of nuisance. But looks like that's suddenly changed…”

Magnus’s mouth twitched upon hearing Alec’s delivery. He could see the twinkling in Alec’s hazel eyes as his mouth remained in a firm thin line as he addressed Camille.

“Oh, and by the way,” Alec continued, keeping a straight face despite seeing Camille with a shocked, irate expression upon her face, “Consent is sexy, throwing yourself at someone is pathetic.”

Magnus continued to say nothing, as he continued to gaze at Alec, biting his lip in mirth. He was so turned on at this moment it wasn't even funny...

After awhile, Camille huffed. “Yea, whatever, losers,” she said, shrugging as she stomped off, clearly annoyed that she was not able to engage them.

Once she was out of earshot, Alec turned back to Magnus, who was barely holding it together.

“Oh my god, Alexander,” Magnus gasped, as he held his hand to his stomach, “That was ---"

Alec let out a low whistle. “Damn,” he breathed. “You sure attract the psychos. Aren’t you glad that Jace ended up getting you out of that one…?”

Magnus smiled serenely as he brought his hand up to his spectacles to adjust them as he gazed affectionately at Alec. “Oh, I wouldn’t say I did too badly this time around though,” he stated in a playful tone of voice, as he wagged a finger playfully at Alec.

Alec’s hazel eyes darkened. “Can't argue with that,” he said agreeably. He hummed as his eyes roved over Magnus’s face. “So, professor, did I made the grade on that?” he joked playfully.

“Hmm,” Magnus purred. “I’d certainly say that was worth an A+, plus some _bonus points_.” Magnus's tone of voice had lowered considerably toward the end of his sentence.

“Ooh, A+,” Alec said in all seriousness, “AND _bonus points_?! Do tell...”

“I don’t know,” Magnus said suggestively. “I like to be spontaneous, remember? But let's take it up during my _private_ office hours -- which begin as soon as we get back to the room...” And with that, Alec moved closer to Magnus again until their faces were just inches from one another.

“ _I love it_ when you're spontaneous. One of the best things about you,” Alec whispered, as he leaned in to capture Magnus’s mouth with his again.

*********************

_A year later_

Alec looked around the small gymnasium, making sure that everything was set up for the competition.

It was funny, he mused, how things could change so quickly in a year's time. What used to be a frenemy type of competition between the top two fraternities had evolved into a campus wide event involving the fraternity system actually playing for charity. They even attempted to sell tickets for it. The reception toward this was better than expected, and they actually ended up selling a sizeable amount of tickets.

Thinking about presenting the money from the ticket sales to the charity brought a smile to his lips.

The charity associated with this was SOS Children Villages -- a nationwide effort providing a resource for children orphaned under otherwise unfortunate circumstances to stay together in "communities", as opposed to being thrown into the system, where the results could end up unpredictable. This charity was particularly dear to Magnus who had friends who had ended up in the foster system. Back then, no one had been aware that such a charity was around to help out children who were in need of such help.

But that wasn't the only change to the competition.

Alec had proposed the idea of changing the format of the beer pong competition—to make it more of a collaborative effort where different fraternities could start working together, and having more people meet one another with in the system. So he suggested that instead one on one matches, that it be comprised of several tables, made up of several two man tag teams of two playing one another until there was one table left – however, the two man teams needed to be individuals from different fraternities. Naturally, Alec and Magnus decided to team up together, leading more than one member of their fraternity to tease them mercilessly about it.

In fact Raj came up to them the other day, asking about the competition, while stating, "Don't tell me, you and Magnus over there are teaming up, right?” he stated, in such a way indicating that it was obvious to him, but he was going to ask anyway. 

Alec gave him a look, but decided to play along. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked innocently -- even as a familiar guffaw could already be heard to the side of them. 

"Oh, stop, Alexander," Magnus protested lightly. He looked over at Raj, rolling his eyes at him. "Of course it makes sense for the winners of the last 3 years to team up... "

"Not to mention, boyfriends, right? "Alec quipped, his eyes crinkling warmly.

Magnus grinned. "That goes without saying," he responded, his cheeks pink.

Next to them, an exasperated sigh could be heard.

"Okay, okay guys, enough with the mushy stuff," Raj groaned. " I don't know why I even asked. It's a given... "

"True that." Jace was suddenly next to them,, smiling. " But he does have a point, you guys are too cute for your own good…”

Jace then turned to Raj. "You know, it's not too late to sign up. Who knows -- it's for a good cause and maybe you can make new friends," he said cheekily. "I think there's a signup sheet for members who want to participate but they haven't been paired up yet... I mean we know you're good at this. Here's your chance to play and do some good while doing so... "

Raj furrowed his brows in thought. " Hmm that actually doesn't sound like such a bad idea. My schedule for that week actually freed up quite recently. Maybe I will consider it, " he said finally.

At that, both Magnus and Alec grinned. "That's a great idea, I really do hope you consider doing so,” Alec said genuinely.

…………….

“Can’t believe the competition’s tonight. Feels like we have been planning it forever,” a deep musical voice said behind him. “You sure got here early.”

Alec’s heart warmed upon hearing the voice. _Magnus._ The one he loved. 

He took a deep breath, as he turned to face his boyfriend. “Yea, where does all the time go, right?” he said, smiling. 

“Where, indeed,” Magnus agreed, stepping forward and lifting his face up to kiss Alec tenderly on the lips, as he laced their fingers together. “My little worrywart,” he murmured against Alec’s lips.

Alec made a small noise of indignation, as he pulled away slightly.

“Anyway, _someone_ had to make sure everything was arranged correctly,” he huffed with a smile.

“I'm just teasing,” Magnus laughed. He gestured around him. “But as you can see, everything is fine. Now we just need to wait for everyone to show up. See, some people are already starting to come in…” He pointed toward the door, where some students were starting to file in.

“Cool,” Alec said, relieved. 

Within half an hour, the gymnasium had started to fill up nicely

"You see that section?" Magnus pointed out. Alec turned to see a whole section of bleachers with students that were decidedly not the fraternity type.

Including.. a very familiar looking girl sitting next to Simon. 

Wait, Alec thought incredulously, craning his head as he attempted to take a better look --Was that... _Isabelle_?? It sure looked like her. But she hadn't told him she was coming down...

Just then the girl turned in his direction, and the look of recognition and surprise was evident.

 _Yup it was Isabelle._ His boisterous sister...

The next second, Isabelle had leapt to her feet, and she was screaming and waving. "Alec! Alec!" Simon turned just then, spotting him as well. Then to Alec's chagrin, now it was the both of them screaming in his direction, both jumping up and down on the bleachers where they stood.

"Too late to hide, huh," Alec groaned, as Magnus started laughing, lifting his arm to wave at them, a big smile on his face." Looks like you have your own fan club," he quipped.

"What I started to say before,” he continued, “Was that a bunch of students found out that their TA was competing in this, and they all brought tickets to come, in order to cheer me on. Of course, now they will get to see me in action with my boyfriend... which by the way, they've known about since day one. Apparently we've been seen around quite a bit, and I've been grilled to death about it..."

Alec frowned slightly. "I'm in one of those classes. I never witnessed this happening..." he said hesitantly.

" Well, darling," Magnus stated. "I did ask them to tone it down around you, just out of respect. But trust me, people just totally love a total meet cute type of story -- "

" I don't know if I would consider how we met as a "meet cute," Alec said, looking askance at Magnus, as he wrinkled his nose.

"I wasn't finished," Magnus said, good naturedly. "I was going to say, either that, or one that defied the odds." He looked at him intently." I mean we were pretty much adversaries from the start, and it was rocky for awhile... "

"Yea," Alec said. "That we were. But that was before I realized how amazing you were, and how sexy you looked while teaching, or how sexy and competent you were at teaching, my god, I honestly don't think I stood a chance, personally. It was going to happen whether I wanted it to, or not... "

Now his cheeks were full on flaming red. Alec swallowed hard.

At Alec's admission, Magnus's gaze had softened, now reflecting slight awe. "Oh my, I don't know if I'm this deserving of this type of praise... I mean I do know that I am completely irresistible to an extent, but still... You were pretty amazing yourself, just by being you. And you still do, continue to surprise me -- you know...” he said softly. 

They gazed at one another, with eyes shining.

Suddenly overhead, they heard a voice boom from the loudspeaker, “Everyone please make your way to your seats, the event will begin in 20 minutes. Participants, please congregate on the West End of the gymnasium with your teams…”

“Well, that’s us,” Magnus stated. “We should get going…”

Hand-in-hand, they walked toward the area to meet with the other groups.

Upon reaching the designated spot, they were met with knowing looks. “You know, it figures that you two would be the last to get here,” Jace teased. Next to him, Raj and a brother from another fraternity, Dustin, traded high fives.

“W-What?” Alec sputtered, while Magnus just rolled his eyes good naturedly. “We were here before EVERYONE! We were just upstairs, that’s all…”

Alec peered over at them. “Heyyy,” he said lightly, “Raj, it looks like you made a friend!” 

Raj made a face. “No, silly, I already knew Dustin from Chemistry class,” he said easily. “But right, we never got a chance to hang out.

The emcee, a fellow Gamma Delta Sigma brother, smiled at them. “Well, everyone’s now here. Everyone knows the deal right? To have fun, and to play our hearts out. By the way, great job on selling tickets, we definitely banked,” he said. 

Rousing cheers erupted in response.

……………………………….

_The Emcee was now at the podium, and began to rattle off the different fraternity pair-offs._

_When he got to Raj and Dustin, the two whooped, jumped up, and ran into the gym front and center – their enthusiasm bringing forth appreciative cheers from both fraternities. Watching from the wings, Alec had to smile. It was nice seeing fraternity brothers getting their due._

_Suddenly the Emcee announced,. “And now, for the moment, and the team I’m sure everyone has been waiting for…MAGNUS BANE, GAMMA DELTA SIGMA, and ALEC LIGHTWOOD, Delta Delta Kappa!!!’_

“Darling, I think we are being summoned,” Magnus stated. Alec grinned, and allowed Magnus to drag him out front and center. The spectators were going wild. 

And then…”MALEC! MALEC! MALEC!” could be heard as a chant, again and again and again. Alec’s eyes widened. 

Next to them, Jace snorted. “Oh god, I kinda heard this might happen, but didn’t think people would actually do it,” he stated.

Magnus only smiled as he turned to Alec, who blushed furiously from the attention. “Looks like they want our attention. Shall we acknowledge them?” he asked.

Alec huffed. “I suppose,” he said, half-resigned. But also not really minding all that much at the same time…

“Okay, let’s give them something they will all remember,” Magnus murmured, his face now close to Alec’s. Alec was practically swooning from Magnus’s proximity to him…

Magnus grinned, as he swept Alec in his arms, kissing him lingeringly, and melting sweet. OH MY GOD, Alec thought faintly, as the sound of rushing wind filled his ears. _There were way too many sensations and emotions going through his system right now…_

Cheers rose from the stands. 

As they stepped away from one another, Alec still rather dizzy from it all, they heard Jace snort in response. 

“Man, you guys, a spectacle wherever you guys go….I'm so bringing this up when I make the best man toast at your wedding, Alec," he joked.

"Jace!" Alec hissed, his cheeks flaming. “Don’t say such things, my god…” He was _mortified_. He didn't need Magnus to hear stuff like this. It was much, much too early for anything.

Even though he himself had already envisioned some aspect of his future -- _but right, didn't want to scare anyone off --_

Magnus however didn't seem to react negatively to Jace's remarks. Instead, he gave Jace an amused look with a smirk on his lips.

"Hmm, that's rather reassuring," he said smoothly. "Then I'l be looking forward to bonding over beers at the backyard barbeques in the future, _brother_ ," he said, his eyes crinkling.

"As long as you bring the beers," Jace teased good-naturedly. 

They bumped fists in solidarity. 

Alec certainly did not have time at this moment to process what this conversation might even _mean – but he was faintly aware of its potential significance, and uh what a TIME to say something like this at all! As if he wasn’t even here, right in front of them!!! These guys --_

Instead Alec chose to roll his eyes with an exasperated huff at the both of them - making both Jace and Magnus start chuckling.

Jace looked up at the LCD scoreboard, which detailed the order of placement with regard to competition.

“Oof, looks like you two are up in the first round,” he said. “Now, no funny business, okay? Just do what you two do best…”

“You know it,” Magnus said, winking back at him. “We got each other, no matter what.” 

He flashed a smile at Alec just then, the very intimate one that he only reserved for him, and him alone. It made Alec feel all sorts of special and incredible, as if there would be no one else that he would ever want – just _Magnus._

 _Yup, right back at you_ , Alec thought, smiling lovingly back at Magnus.

_Always._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a pleasure writing for all of you. Hope to see you the next time! xoxo

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this fic "It's Your Move" won't you leave a kudo or comment? It would be greatly appreciated! :) Thank you for reading!


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